“Daniel McGeeney is probably the best undergraduate jazz pianist in the state outside of Boston. He is an incredible musician with a great feel and an even better ear,” said Dave Ullman, ’10, who played trombone with McGeeney in the jazz combo Blue Nomads. Ullman added, “As a person, he is extremely friendly and nice to everyone … If I had to describe him in two words, I would call him a ‘true bro.’”
“Nice Daniel”
Since McGeeney first arrived on campus, it seems as though nearly everyone who has come into contact with him has considered him extraordinarily amiable and outgoing. Anthony Paz ’08, who met McGeeney through the Newman Club, believes that, at least in the senior class, “most everyone knows who Dan McGeeney is” and considers him “one of the nicest guys on campus.”
Jake Goldberg ’08, a fellow jazz pianist, echoes Paz’s sentiments. “Dan exudes cheerfulness,” he explained. “He is almost always upbeat, a person who just gives off this great energy. He is never judgmental and [is] totally comfortable in all sorts of situations … He genuinely likes everyone he meets.”
According to Alex Tun ’08, the drummer for the Blue Nomads, McGeeney’s reputation as a nice guy began as soon as he arrived on campus. “When he first came to Amherst he gained the nickname ‘Nice Daniel’ from some of the girls in our class,” Tun said. He added jokingly, “Over time, he has been worn down by the sarcastic and nasty world that is Amherst, so that now, although he is definitely still one of the most genuinely nice people I know, he has also learned to find joy in being offensive and inappropriate.”
Tickling the Ivories
Though he is not a music major, jazz piano has been a central feature of McGeeney’s experience at Amherst. McGeeney has performed in many different groups over the past four years. He has been the pianist for the Blue Nomads since his freshman year, and he has performed in several similar bands at UMass. He also played keyboard in the campus rock group, The Elements of Style, last semester and performed in the professional jazz band, Iron City, a group that plays in many jazz venues across the Pioneer Valley. McGeeney particularly valued his experience with Iron City because it allowed him to “[get] a taste of what it would be like to be a professional musician.”
Both teachers and students who have performed with McGeeney lavishly praise his outstanding musical ability. “It is safe to say that [Daniel] is one of the most gifted musicians to pass through our music department,” said Senior Lecturer in Music and Director of the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble Bruce Diehl, who worked frequently with McGeeney over the course of his time at the College. “He has an incredible sense of melody when improvising, plays as a sensitive accompanist and composes beautiful and exciting tunes. He does all this while remaining one of the most humble and teachable students—certainly a trait that goes a long way towards building a sense of community within our music department.”
“He thinks of things to practice that no one else would or could,” Goldberg added. “He’ll find something he likes, across all sorts of genres, and use it to come up with exercises for writing. I’ve heard him make jazz exercises out of the Moonlight Sonata and out of Kanye West.”
Tun mentioned that, in addition to his own exceptional musical talent, McGeeney has the rare ability of making those with whom he performs better musicians themselves. “I think it is important to recognize that his drive to improve has made everyone who has played with him better,” Tun remarked. “I definitely owe what little progress I have made to being in a group with him for three years.”
“On the bandstand, McGeeney (or “Happy Foot” as he was once known) is a potent force,” said Nomads saxophonist Austin Leach.. “He is the best pianist I know, and his compositions are melodically and harmonically imaginative. He’s got a tremendous sense of leadership and will easily go pro if that’s what his heart desires.”
In addition to the musical experience, McGeeney credited some of his first close relationships with other Amherst students to his involvement in jazz. He recalls first meeting Blue Nomads saxophonist Leach outside of Diehl’s office and later heading to one of the music rehearsal rooms to jam with him. McGeeney also remembers initial sessions in the practice rooms with Goldberg, during which they would challenge each other to improve by alternately playing practice drills on the piano.
McGeeney said that his interest in music ultimately stems from his attraction to the “mystical,” even “magical” qualities of music. “For me, music has always been a very personal thing,” he said, explaining that he sees music as an “emotional outlet,” something that he can connect with intimately. He has found that this is the best way for him to approach music—not by seeing it simply as a series of notes or chord progressions, but as a universally understood expression of human sentiments.
Double Major, with Piano on the Side
A major trend throughout McGeeney’s education is that experiences with great teachers and professors have motivated him to pursue certain studies. McGeeney set his sights on majoring in physics after he took a physics course in high school with an influential teacher who had been at his school for 39 years. His first physics professor at Amherst, Bruce B. Benson ’43 and Wilson Benson Professor of Physics Kannan Jagannathan, inspired McGeeney to follow through on his plans to major in the subject. McGeeney fondly recalled courses taken with Jagannathan, especially Methods of Theoretical Physics, a class that examined the different mathematical models physicists use. Associate Professor of Physics David Hall is another physics teacher who stands out in McGeeney’s mind; McGeeney likened his classes to a combination of a physics lecture and a stand-up comedy routine.
In addition to physics, McGeeney completed the religion major during his time at Amherst. Though always interested in the philosophy of religion, McGeeney somewhat unexpectedly found himself drawn to study religion after taking the Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought course, “Law, God and Modernity,” with Assistant Professor of LJST Nasser Hussain. The course, which examined the relationship between religion and the state, motivated McGeeney to take courses in the religion department.
There, McGeeney met Assistant Professor of Religion Andrew Dole, whom McGeeney considers the “single biggest influence on [his] academic development” at Amherst. McGeeney took four or five classes with Dole—among his favorites were Religion in Scientific Perspective, which examined whether or not it is possible to use evolutionary theory to explain how religion came into existence, and Suspicion and Religion, which examined the writings of authors like Marx, Freud and Nietzsche, who were skeptical of religion. McGeeney and Dole also worked together to create the Inklings, a group advised by Dole, which meets weekly to discuss the philosophy of religion.
“Over the past four years I’ve come to regard Daniel as one who is interested in getting to the bottom of things,” remarked Dole. “I’ve come to expect that as a particular course unfolds over the course of the semester he will be in the process of carefully assembling the material we’ve read into a coherent overall picture … In fact, in some cases I’ve found him to be a step or two ahead of both the syllabus and my own thinking about the questions on the table. Daniel is the sort of student who keeps an instructor on his toes and makes teaching particularly rewarding.”
His Own Faith
During his time at Amherst, McGeeney has remained in touch with his Catholic faith. He attended mass and was an active member of the Newman Club for all four years, acting as music minister for much of that time. As someone who is interested in the philosophy of religion, McGeeney’s personal interest in Catholicism is derived from concern over what he calls “existential anxieties,” such as the question of what comes after death.
Like his musical involvement, McGeeney’s membership in the Newman Club has also given him a sense of community. “One of the nice things about the Newman Club is it’s almost like a family,” he said. He went on to say that “some really, really close friendships that [he values] a lot” have been cultivated in the Newman Club.
McGeeney also found that participation in Catholic life at Amherst has reinforced some of the lessons he has learned from his academic studies of religion. Religion, he feels, does not mean the same thing for everyone, even for those who are connected by the same faith. Rather, each person interprets their faith individually and derives a unique, personal significance from being faithful and involved in a religious community.
It’s Practice Time
As could be expected from someone who pursued such eclectic interests during his time at Amherst, McGeeney’s plans for the future are quite diverse. Just as many famous musicians have devoted a year or more solely toward improving their skills, McGeeney (though he claims to have no plans to become a world-renowned jazz pianist) plans to spend the six months following his graduation from Amherst simply practicing the piano. Afterwards, he hopes to travel to Spain with his older sister and obtain a position teaching English. Though he never took a Spanish course during his time at Amherst, McGeeney took Spanish every year from grade one to grade 12 and significantly improved his speaking skills during a summer 2006 trip to Chile with Amherst’s Jazz Ensemble.
Wherever the future takes him, all indications are that “Nice Daniel” will succeed in whatever he attempts to do. His wide array of interests and talents, curiosity about the world, and outgoing, genuinely kind personality will definitely serve him well. “He’s super sweet and does a great job of making his close friends feel special. I’d do anything for McGeeney, and I know he’s got my back too,” said Leach. “Plus his game with the ladies is mad fortified.”