Artist description Solo Artist

Music Style Eclectic instrumental, Jazz, Prog-Rock, Classical, New-Age

Musical Influences Pat Metheny, Genesis, Chick Corea, Miles Davies, Yes, Stravinsky, Satie, Mozart, ELP, Bill Evans, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel

Similar Artists Pat Metheny Group, Early Genesis, Enya, Enigma, Miles Davies, Prokofiev, Pink Floyd

Artist History Stan O'DafferBiographyRaised in the mid-western industrial town of Decatur, Illinois, Stan's musical beginnings were as a drummer in his high school jazz band. He and his fellow band members won numerous awards and accolades including two Down Beat magazine student recording "DeeBee" awards for best high school jazz band in 1981 and 1982. In '83 the band performed and recorded one of his songs. After high school, Stan attended Illinois State University as a music composition major. He studied with the international award-winning composer Roque Cordero and jazz under James Boitos. During this period, he composed numerous classical and jazz compositions including a string quartet, brass quintet, piano trio, and several pieces for the jazz band. With the university jazz band, Stan performed as pianist with such jazz legends as Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry. He also co-founded the groundbreaking fusion band Abstract Notion. After college, Stan moved from central Illinois to Minneapolis. Shortly thereafter, he became involved in numerous recording projects. Working as co-composer and keyboardist with international New Age harpist Marnie Jones, Stan's music propelled Jones's CD Divine Blush into Billboard's New Age chart in 1991. It reached number 19 and remained on the charts for 14 consecutive weeks. In the winter of 1991, Stan joined the European tour band of Ingrid Chavez, protege to the artist formally known as Prince. In 1997 he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. On Stan’s first solo recording project, Distance, he channeled all of his eclectic musical experience into a uniquely stylistic recording. Included on the CD is a new version of Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street", enthusiastically approved by Mr. Gabriel. This CD was nominated by the Minnesota Music Academy for best instrumental recording of 1996. Stan's newest project is a realization of years of research and determination to combine his two loves (paleontology and music) together in one inspired work. Sweet is a conceptual album about a juvenile dinosaur that becomes orphaned and struggles to survive. Each song from the piece was written to illuminate a scene from the story, in sort of a contemporary tone poem fashion. The result is a large array of styles, tailored to best illustrate the storyline. The story for the project developed from research Stan was doing on predatory Jurassic dinosaurs in preparation for a presentation at a scientific conference. Even though Stan's research was published, the thought of incorporating his own scientific hypotheses into a fictional story seemed a more enjoyable way to describe his unique views of dinosaurian life and times. Here is an excerpt from Sweet the novel.The swirling winds made it impossible to follow the scent of the other members back to the nest. He looked for a familiar landmark but all he saw were trees swaying, resisting the winds. In all of the excitement of the hunt, he had become lost. Panic began to set in. He had never really been alone before. Even when he had wondered away from the nest, he was accompanied by the scent of the elder members. Their aroma acted like a map, which he could follow back to the nest. Now, their scent was gone and he was alone. Stabs of wetness began to coat his body as intermittent drops of rain fell from the angry clouds above. The coldness of their touch caused Sweet to leap blindly into the unknown. One direction was all directions as flight took control of him. He ran into the denser parts of the forest unable to recognize his surroundings. The scent of unknown animals was multiplying rapidly and added to his anxiety. Ironically, this predatory animal that was the king of his fauna was now crippled with fear. The monsoon came suddenly and violently in sheets of vulcanized water. Desiccated, hardened soil acted like a gutter, directing the flow of water into quickly growing streams. The flood of adrenaline coursing through his body equaled the bombardment of water all around him. Sweet’s brain had little control over his athletic legs because the hormone had increased his heart rate and the contractions of his locomotor muscles. He was running faster now than he had ever run before. Trees became blurry obstacles as he splashed through pools of blackness. The winds had grown into gales and were pushing him up the hill. He fought his fear and slowed to have a look around. Still, nothing was familiar. The rain was accumulating rapidly and it was becoming difficult to move up the hill against the flow of water. He knew that he had to find shelter and soon.Performances by guitarist's Dean McGraw, Rik Stirling, Boiled-in-Lead violinist David Stenshoel, and saxman David Marden, enrich the quality of the CD.

Group Members Stan O'Daffer - Composer, Pianist, Drummer, KeyboardistRik Stirling - Guitars, BassDean McGraw - Acoustic GuitarDavid Stenshoel - ViolinDavid Marden - Tenor Sax

Instruments Piano, Guitar, Sythnesizer, Orchestra, Drums

Albums Sweet, Distance

Press Reviews "…an incredibly varied musical portrait that encompasses such genres as jazz-pop fusion, blistering guitar-oriented rock, piano-based tone poems, and neo-classical adult contemporary…the rewards of Sweet are many. - Wind&Wire Instrumental Reviews“…an album of varied textures and melodies, spanning more than a few styles and moods and is a treat for those of you who enjoy your recordings musically diverse and yet cohesive in technical proficiency…has-to-be-heard-to-be-believed...a highly individualistic recording, and of very high merit” - Wind and Wire magazine“Stan O’Daffer takes you into his head. An undiscovered talent that will soon have his own following.” Edwin Black former reviewer - Downbeat, International Musician…LOVELY… - Peter Gabriel"...it is always a treat to [hear] intelligent, interesting music...Mr. O'Daffer is truly gifted, and the combination with Billy McLaughlin is superb. In addition, Mercy Street, one of my favorite tunes, is very special. -KUAC radio, Fairbanks Alaska"Unusually beautiful music...comforting gentleness of jazz offers a respite of quality listening among the multitude of newage music that has become all the same." -The UnicornFor the quieter moments, Stan O'Daffer serves up a nice entree of piano, spiced just right with an occasional synthesizer, acoustic guitar, or unusual percussion piece. His style falls somewhere between jazz and new age… A lot of O'Daffer's compositions are swirling and plenteous arrangements that fill the room with a sense of serenity, not domination the atmosphere, yet not yielding presence. Fans of George Winston or Jon Schmidt should enjoy this debut solo effort from O'Daffer. -CDReviewsStan O'Daffer has charted in Billboard and he's received praise from Peter Gabriel for a cover he did of "Mercy Street." So...why haven't you heard of him? I don't know. But I do know that if O'Daffer can continue to make albums such as Distance, you'll be hearing a lot about him in the future. His playing is that of a virtuoso but his sense of good taste is well developed. The music is simple and beautiful enough that average listeners are not disoriented while at the same time it is technically proficient enough that even the most accomplished musicians will be able to appreciate it. Kathode Ray Music Reviews

Location Minneapolis, MN - USA

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