Rock/Review Denim Dan - Denim Dan's 25th Anniversary (1999 - 2024)

Denim Dan was formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996 with four friends: Jeffrey Edge on lead guitar, Ted Shinn on keyboards, Gary Mitchell Flori on drums, and me, Michael “Denim Dan” Halitzer, on guitar and vocals. Their debut album, “Your Foreign Town,” was released in 1999 on Orchard Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Their second album was started in 1996 but finally released in 2018. Sadly, Jeffrey Edge ended his life in 2001, and Ted Shinn passed away in 2012.

"Denim Dan's 25th Anniversary (1999–2024)" honors twenty-five years of Northern Soul, jazz, and soul influences skillfully melded into a sound that is at once inventive and nostalgic. The album is a soulful compilation that takes listeners to smokey clubs while sounding fresh and current even today. It showcases Denim Dan's distinct ability to draw from the past while producing something wholly own.

Denim Dan is depicted on the cover image as Hermes, the Greek deity renowned for serving as both a messenger and a mediator between the living and the dead. This iconography relates to the central idea of the album, which is that music is a global language. The manner that Denim Dan's music connects the past and present is symbolized by Hermes, the god of translators and interpreters. The idea highlights music as a medium for communication that can delve deeply into the soul and express feelings that words cannot.

The album has tracks that are masterworks at fusing Northern Soul grooves, delicate jazz rhythms, and lush, smokey voices. Every single song on "Denim Dan's 25th Anniversary" exudes an indisputable warmth and vitality, reflecting not just his career but also the timeless quality of music. The fusion of styles, from jazz to Motown, results in a soundscape that is both familiar and unique, capturing the essence of Hermes as the Johnny Appleseed of songs and bringing joy and optimism.