Dennis Mackrel
Dennis was born, April 3, 1962. A child prodigy, he began
playing the drums when he was two; and became a professional
musician at the age of ten when he performed in the Anchorage
Community Theater's production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum".
Developing his craft in various playing situations, Dennis
received numerous awards such as "Who's Who in Music", 1979;
National Endowment for the Arts grant for composition
in 1983; and in 1992; "Outstanding Alumni" from the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas.
While attending UNLV, he was a member of the acclaimed UNLV Jazz Ensemble where his
drumming and arranging skills caught the attention of
legendary jazz vocalist Joe
Williams. In 1985 under Mr. Jones's leadership, the
Count Basie Orchestra recorded one of Dennis's compositions entitled "And That's
That". Dennis's transition from sideman to
leader continued with his frequent trips to Europe as a guest
conductor, arranger and/or soloist for such outstanding ensembles as
the Metropole
Orchestra in Amsterdam, Holland, the
Danish Radio Big Band in Copenhagen, Denmark and the WDR
Big Band in Koln, Germany.
In addition to being a seasoned
musician, Dennis is also a highly respected composer/arranger whose
commissioned works have been recorded or performed by
In 1981, at 19 years of age, Dennis moved to New York City and
landed a gig as a drummer on Broadway. His Broadway credits
include "The First" and "A Chorus Line" and in January of 1983,
Dennis joined the Count Basie Orchestra on the personal
recommendation of Mr. Williams.
Dennis traveled extensively and worked alongside Mr. Basie until
his death in April 1984. He continued with the orchestra under
the direction of interim leader Eric Dixon followed by Thad
Jones.
Dennis stayed with the band, when Frank Foster took over as leader,
until December of 1987. Dennis's composition Bus
Dust was included on the CD "Long Live The Chief" which was
recorded during Mr. Foster's tenure as leader.
After leaving the Orchestra, he returned to New York and would soon
become the drummer of choice for a number of large ensembles including
the American
Jazz Orchestra, the Carla
Bley Big Band, the Vanguard
Jazz Orchestra, Buck
Clayton's Swing Band, and the Dizzy
Gillespie All Star Big Band
In 2010, he returned to the Count
Basie Orchestra where he served as its leader and chief
conductor until 2013 and in 2015, he was named chief conductor of the
Jazz
Orchestra of the Concertgebouw" in Amsterdam, Holland. In 2019,
the orchestra was awarded the prestigious "Edison
Award" for their double CD "Crossroads".
Dennis toured extensively with the orchestra including performances in
Europe, China, Russia, Indonesia and the United States until the
global pandemic of 2020.
The United
States Military Academy at West Point's Jazz Knights Big Band
The
Manhattan School of Music
The
Temple University Jazz Ensemble
The
University of North Texas' One O'Clock Big Band
and most notably, the McCoy Tyner Big Band whose Grammy winning CDs "The Turning
Point" and "Journey"
included four of Dennis's arrangements.
As an educator, he continues to conduct master classes, seminars, and
workshops throughout Europe, Asia, Canada and the USA.
From 2002-2003, Dennis served as a guest professor at the Royal
Conservatory in Aarhus, Denmark and from 2012-2013, he was the Visiting
Artist in Jazz Studies at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in
Rochester, New York
He is currently an associate chair and professor of jazz studies at the
Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens
College in Flushing, NY. He is also a member of the jazz
faculty at the Birch
Creek Summer Music Academy in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin and the Skidmore
Jazz Institute in Saratoga Springs, NY.