Jeremy Danneman

The Down On Me is Jeremy Danneman’s latest project and his first foray into singing and songwriting, with his previous bands featuring only instrumental music. Having been a literature major at New York University, Danneman had, in an earlier stage of life, aspired to become both a writer and musician. As reality set in, his ambition for bardhood was dropped to make more room for dreams of maestrodom, and it would be years before Danneman’s desire to reach audiences with words would be rekindled. The Down On Me is named after a traditional American folk song, from the 1920s, though the most famous version was recorded in 1967 by Janis Joplin. As the name suggests, Danneman’s songs explore the gulf between one’s self-perception and outside perceptions of one’s identity and the instability of one’s self-image in the face of challenges from lovers, friends, and life in general. Some songs from the “Big Fruit Salad” represent the early stages of Danneman’s work on a musical theater production about personified fruits and life on the fruit farm. In addition to lyrics, The Down On Me features the improvised instrumental component for which Danneman is already more known.

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Jeremy Danneman is a saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer based in New York City. He is known for his albums, most recently Honey Wine, released on Ropeadope Records and his work as Founder of the Parade of One Project, which is an organization that engages the international community with a unique blend of performance in public spaces, recording, and educational programming. Danneman’s work has been funded by the Puffin Foundation, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Goethe Institute of Kigali. He has performed internationally in Tokyo, Berlin, Rwanda, Zanzibar, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic, and has contributed to recordings with bands including the Mysterium Electric Soundpainting Septet, the New York Soundpainting Orchestra, El Pueblo, and Ulysses. Other notable musical collaborators include William Parker, Tim Keiper, Mike Clark, Brad Farberman, Danny Tamberelli, Anders Nilsson, Sophie Nzayisenga, and Arn Chorn-Pond. Danneman has also performed and composed music for multiple films, including Rwanda 15 directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza, which documents Danneman’s street performances in Rwanda in 2009 and has screened on three continents, including its world premier at the 2010 Zanzibar International Film Festival and the 2011 Vision Festival in New York City. Danneman’s work had been covered in international media, such as Haaretz, The Daily Beast, and the South African Broadcasting Channel. As an educator, Danneman has given guest lectures for the Ramaz High School (Manhattan,) The Royal University of Fine Arts (Cambodia,) the faculty of Baltimore County Community College, and more. He is currently a teaching artist for Midori and Friends. Danneman holds a BA in British and American Literature from New York University.

Anders Nilsson is a New York City based guitarist and composer. He plays electric and acoustic guitars and the 11-string alto guitar. He has performed and/or recorded with Mohsen Namjoo, Paquito D’Rivera, Elliot Sharp, Fay Victor, and Angelblood. Nilsson’s work as a composer includes music for short films, dance, string quartets, and theater. He holds a Masters in Fine Arts from City University of New York.

Joe Exley is one of the most versatile and in-demand tuba players in New York City. Originally from Louisiana, he holds a masters degree in Tuba performance from Northwestern University. He has played in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall. Exley has performed with TS Monk, Wallace Roney, Kevin Mahogany, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Bernard Purdie, Joe Lovano, and Kenny Werner. He also makes an appearance on Mindy Kaling’s movie, “Late Night.” His music has been heard all over network television, including ABC, CBS, NBS, BBC, PBS, and more. 

The Big Fruit Salad

Release Date: June 10, 2022

All songs and lyrics written and composed by Jeremy Danneman.

Jeremy Danneman - Vocals, Saxophone, Clarinet
Anders Nilsson - Guitar
Joe Exley - Sousaphone

Recorded on February 23, 2022 at Bunker Studio, Brooklyn NY
Engineered and Mixed by John Davis
Mastered by Alex DeTurk
Cover image by Alina Gregorian

about jeremy danneman

Jeremy Danneman was born and raised in Newark, Delaware where he began playing musical instruments at an early age. Like most people deluded into pursuing a career in music, his talents were recognized at an early age. He was given the honor of playing in Delaware All-State Band and Governor’s School for Excellence in Music, and thus was encouraged to pursue the fruitless, respectless path to which he still stubbornly clings, to this day. Danneman’s career may have peaked during his childhood in Delaware, but like a compulsive gambler he has spent the rest of his career trying to recreate that beginner’s luck.

And so it was in 1998 that Danneman relocated to New York City to pursue a career as a saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer, and it’s been all downhill from there. Over the years, he has been fired from bands for all kinds of reasons, including but not limited to: a mysterious odor, playing too loudly, lacking taste, playing out of tune, lacking rhythm, having no style, being poorly dressed, and just plain sucking.

If it matters, there have also been some career highlights, though they have been very sparse in the immense sea of failures and shortcomings. To name a few: In 2009, Danneman had a birthday parade instead of a party. It was an 11 hour march throughout New York City, including Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. This experience inspired him to launch the Parade of One project, in which he has given street performances in Rwanda to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the genocide there, and subsequently in Cambodia and Vietnam, where he met the only person enough of a sucker to become his wife while he was playing saxophone in a park.

Danneman has applied for loads of grants and fellowships. At first, every single application was denied, so he hired a real professional to research and write the applications for him, and he miraculously still maintained his 100% rejection rate. Finally, the Puffin Foundation awarded him a grant to produce his upcoming album Honey Wine. It was probably a clerical mistake on the part of the foundation, but there’s no way he’s giving them the money back.

Danneman has three albums as a leader out on Ropeadope Records and has performed at fine New York City venues such as the Blue Note, Roulette, the Stone, Theater for the New City, the United Nations Church Center, Zebulon, and Nublu. He has performed internationally in Tokyo, Berlin, Rwanda, Zanzibar, Dominican Republic, Cambodia, and Vietnam. He has contributed to recordings by the Mysterium Electric Soundpainting Septet, the New York Soundpainting Orchestra, El Pueblo, Ulysses, Love Camp Seven and more. Notable musical collaborators include William Parker, Tim Keiper, Anders Nilsson, Sophie Nzayisenga, Arn Chorn-Pond, Brad Farberman and many others. He has recently shared the stage with Mike Clark, the drummer from Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters and the indie-rock sensation 75 Dollar Bill.

Danneman has also composed and produced music for multiple films, including Rwanda 15 directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza, which documents Danneman’s street performances in 2009 in Rwanda and has screened on three continents, including its world premier at the 2010 Zanzibar International Film Fest and then in New York at the 2011 Vision Fest. As an educator, Danneman has given guest lectures for the Ramaz High School (Manhattan), The Royal University of Fine Arts (Cambodia), the faculty of Baltimore County Community College, and more. He is currently a teaching artist for Midori and Friends. Danneman holds a BA in British and American Literature from New York University.