ABOUT
Dave Panichi is internationally respected as a virtuoso lead trombonist, soloist and session player, and is widely considered to be one of Australia’s finest composers and arrangers.
Dave returned to the US in November 2017 to record a DVD “Paradigm” of his original big band compositions and arrangements performed live with an all-star group he assembled of New York’s finest players.
His current project, The Dave Panichi BIG Band, brings together some of Australia’s most dynamic emerging and established musicians to perform his music the way it demands to be played – with passion, groove, soul and grit!
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Born and raised in Sydney, Dave moved in 1981 to New York, where he lived for 18 years. During this time, Dave performed with a multitude of notable artists including, among many others, the Buddy Rich Big Band, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Blood Sweat & Tears, Frankie Valli, Slide Hampton, Bob Mintzer, Maria Schneider, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Aretha Franklin, The O’Jays, Mel Tormé, Peabo Bryson, Dave Liebman, Mulgrew Miller and Marc Copland.
During his time with Buddy Rich's band, Buddy once threatened to fire Dave for growing a beard. The entire incident was taped and became a well-known bootleg showcasing Buddy's wild temper and unique turns of phrase. Dialogue from this exchange was later referenced in several episodes of “Seinfeld”, most notably “The Opposite”, “The Understudy” and “The Butter Shave.”
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In 2000, Dave returned to his home-town of Sydney, Australia where he remains active in performing, teaching, recording, arranging and composing. Infused with the exhilaration, rich flavours and influences of the two decades he spent living and working in New York, Dave’s original compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by, among many others, the Buddy Rich Big Band, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Blood Sweat & Tears, James Morrison, The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra (JMO), Ralph Pyl’s Sydney All-Star Big Band, Ten Part Invention and the Danish Radio Big Band.
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