Dan Higgins

DAN HIGGINS first distinguished himself while attending University of North Texas. He played lead alto in the 1 o’clock lab band and can be heard on Lab 76 and Lab 77. Dan also was a recent guest at the University of North Texas lecture series and played in the Alumni 50-year All-star Reunion Band. As a Los Angeles based professional Dan has recorded with such noted artists as Phil Collins, Jose Feliciano, Cher, Natalie Cole, Randy Newman, Babyface, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Kenny Loggins, Ringo Starr, Al Jarreau, Clint Black, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Queen Latifa, Roberta Flack, Michael Buble, Stevie Wonder, Joe Cocker, Earth Wind and Fire, Patti Austin, Burt Bacharach, Frank Sinatra, and Bette Midler. He is a featured soloist on the Quincy Jones CD, Basie and Beyond, Gordon Goodwin’s Swinging for the Fences and Wayne Bergeron’s You Call this a Living. Dan currently has two of his own CDs “Cityside” and the new 2006 release “Dan Higgins Quartet – Voicing a Standard”.Dan’s varied talents on all woodwinds make him a sought after session musician in the film, TV and record industry. Dan is the solo alto saxophone voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy from the TV series, The Simpsons. The Academy Awards, Emmys, Grammy Awards, Peoples Choice Awards and Espys are just a few of the live TV specials he has played. Dan has worked on over 500 motion picture scores and is a featured soloist in the scores: Catch Me If You Can, Ray, Sideways, Awakenings, The Notebook, Benny & Joon, What Women Wants, A Bug’s Life, Mouse Hunt, White Palace, and Sleepless in Seattle. Such notable composers as John Williams, Alan Silvestri, Marc Shaiman, James Horner, Randy Newman, David Newman and Aaron Zigman call on Dan to play their film scores.Under the direction of John Williams Dan has been a guest soloist with noted orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic performing the John Williams piece Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra. This work was a featured part of the 2003 PBS TV series Evening at the Pops.Dan Higgins is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist.