Dennis González | pl

Dennis González (often credited as Dennis Gonzalez; b. 1954, Abilene, Texas) is a jazz musician, poet, visual artist and music educator based in Dallas, Texas.

González' primary musical instrument is the trumpet (including B♭, C, and pocket trumpets), though he has also played drums, flute, synthesizer, and baritone saxophone. The Allmusic describes González' playing as falling "between advanced hard bop and free jazz."As of December 2006, González has released at least 28 albums under his own name. He has recorded for the Silkheart, Konnex, Gowi, Brut, Clean Feed, Music and Art, Koch Jazz, and 8th Harmonic Breakdown record labels.

During the late 1970s, González started the Dallas Association for Avant-Garde and Neo Impressionistic Music, or daagnim, which he based on and named after the AACM. The daagnim organization functioned both as a group of musicians and as a record label.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that one of González' greatest achievements is having coaxed saxophonist Charles Brackeen out of retirement during the late 1980s. González has also been instrumental in double bassist Henry Grimes' return to performing and recording. Grimes' November, 2003 appearance on González' Nile River Suite was the bassist's first official recording in more than thirty-five years.

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