Adaptive Athlete Dan Greenleaf Releases Jazz Music Album

Dan Greenleaf is a young man who is well known and loved in the GMAS community, and he is about to get an even larger fan base with the release of his first Jazz music album, Live at Ford Hall on May 16th, 2025. Born and raised in Waterbury Center, Dan and his twin brother Jackson, who were both born with cerebral palsy, have skied in the GMAS Adaptive Ski Program at Stowe Mountain Resort since they were tweens. Now 24 years old, the twins still enjoy their days skiing with GMAS at the mountain. Dan is a four-track skier, skiing with outriggers, while Jackson skis in the new Snow’Kart.

 

Album release is May 16th, 2025

We linked up with Dan to learn more about the release of his first album, his music, his passions, his memories of GMAS, his upcoming concerts, and his hopes for the future. We hope that like us, you will fall in love with this ambitious young talented man and his music. Dan is also choosing to give back to GMAS by generously donating 50% of the album sale proceeds, “a program that has supported me for most of my life,” explains Dan. Please purchase his music and support his young emerging career. Also plan to rally friends and family to go his upcoming shows.

 

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am 24 and am living with my parents in Waterbury Center this year. For work I help lead the recording studio and arts community Future Fields. I am the director of community programs there and also manage the day to day operation. I also do lots of freelance work as a musician. I teach music privately and in classrooms, and travel for gigs and different freelance contracts. Recently I wrote a preface for a book of Jazz Etudes set to be published next year and also have been working on a months long music archiving project for Ithaca College. I also do some Personal Care Assistant work for my brother when I’m home.

 

 

Tell us a little about where you went to school, and your certifications and degrees.

I went to Ithaca College in Ithaca NY. I studied with a phenomenal musician and composer there named Mike Titlebaum and completed a B.A in Jazz studies. This included two recitals and an induction into Pi Kappa Lambda Honors Society in Music Theory.

 

Have you learned any valuable lessons, or met important people through adaptive sports?

I think the most valuable lesson I learned is the same one that presents itself in every discipline in life with a disability. You just have to find a way to do things that you want to do. It takes a really honest view of your limitations and then a drive to grow into new territory. I think it’s like that with anything, really. It definitely was the case when I started to seriously work on music.

 

Are you still involved, or participating in GMAS sports programs?

Yes. I ski at Stowe and swim at The Swimming Hole with help from GMAS.

 

What have you been up to lately, and what are your goals? Elaborate on the record creation, release, dates, all you want me to mention about it here.

I have been working on putting out an album! I wrote the music and recorded it live in concert with some of my best friends from college. This was in April of 2024. We rehearsed it in the living room of the house we all shared in downtown Ithaca and played the concert at Ford Hall at Ithaca College. I feel really lucky to have those guys, they are an incredible group of musicians and support system as friends. The record is coming out on May 16th, 2025. I’m really happy with it as a reflection of who I am right now. I think it captures what I love (and can do) in music. I also feel like it has lots of influence from friends teachers and musicians I admire and it is really the blending of those two things that made it feel special.

 

Has music always been part of your life? Are any other family member(s) also musicians?

Absolutely. Some of my earliest memories are of lying on the floor listening to music on the radio or CD. I started guitar lessons when I was six years old with an incredible teacher named Allen Church. He had such a true love for music that totally swept me up and is a huge reason I decided to do it for a living. He has since passed and I remember him fondly all the time. I got heavily involved with music in high school under the direction of Bruce Sklar and Chris Rivers and haven’t stopped since. My brother and sister both took music lessons growing up and are still avid listeners. We go to concerts together whenever we can.

 

What are some of of the accomplishments you are most proud of in your life?

In music I’m proud of the work I did at Ithaca. I did my best to soak in everything I could about composing, playing, hearing and understanding music while I was there. I made some fantastic relationships with teachers and friends and those are still present and growing now. I also got an award at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York for “Outstanding Guitar Solo” in the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship in 2023. That was really cool. In life I am proud of my relationships. I’ve found myself in my young adult life surrounded by some really fantastic people and I feel really humbled by that. I have so many people to be grateful for.

 

 

You have a twin, Jackson, who also participates in GMAS programs. Can you tell us a bit about your relationship with him, and how you two connect these days?

We hang out all the time. For a while we both lived at home after college and we would work together some days. At home we’d hang out and watch cartoons and movies all the time. He has to be the person I’m most deeply connected to because we’ve just shared so many life experiences. We’ll have a conversation that absolutely no one else understands because it involves so much context of our experience together. I like that guy.

 

Do you see having Cerebral Palsy as an asset or a liability?

I don’t think it can ever be one thing. I think my life will always be a lot harder than most people because I will always have to engage with disability. I also think living with CP necessitates an ability to learn to problem solve and forces tenacity. You have to work harder than anyone else at everything. The ability to problem solve and work really hard is an asset in every part of life.

 

What do you hope to achieve in the next 5-10 years?

In my career I hope to continue to grow. It has been a goal of mine for years to tour the US and Europe and I would love to see that happen. I wanna keep writing and making records and most importantly stay engaged and inspired by the music. Music has been such an important emotional force in my life and I hope to give that service back to my community with what I do. I also hope to find some balance between work and life, too. I would love to be able to live in Vermont and be in nature when I’m home. I want to be able to maintain relationships and give back by teaching. I’m trying to figure it all out.

 

Upcoming Live Shows

Make sure to rally family and friends to go listen to Dan and his band at the following locations:

• Friday May 23rd, 5-8pm, Stowe Cider, Stowe, VT
• Saturday May 24th, 11pm-2am, Radio Bean, Burlington, VT
• Sunday May 25th, 4pm, The Phoenix, Waterbury, VT

 

Dan’s Professional Profile

Dan Greenleaf is a guitarist and composer from Vermont. He “has a real commitment to using very simple ideas to create huge beautiful, meaningful shapes in music.” He isn’t shy about contemplating how disability has shaped his musical approach. “Living with disability forces you to really develop heightened problem solving skills. But limitation always drives creativity.”

You can also visit his webpage for more information: https://www.dangreenleaf.website/

Order his music: https://dangreenleaf.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-ford-hall

 

By Pascale Savard
May 15, 2025