To those who have come to love him as the
so-called “singing policeman,”—the New York
City cop who helped bring the country an uplifting spirit of
promise and hope with his stirring rendition of “God
Bless America” after the September 11 terrorist
attacks—it is no surprise that Daniel Rodriguez has
always been a spiritual man. His first two albums, the debut
SPIRIT OF AMERICA and the romantic FROM MY HEART, both included
a spiritual song as a testament to the driving force in his
life, and he has welcomed the opportunity to work with
institutions such as the USO, the City of Hope, Dr. Robert
Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral and numerous law enforcement
organizations.
ALL PERFORMANCES TAKE PLACE AT THE
MARYLAND THEATRE
Thus, IN THE
PRESENCE, his first album devoted to
inspirational music released by Seattle-based Blix Street
Records, is a gift whose time has come. For the album,
Rodriguez applies his rich and warm tenor to traditional
spiritual and church songs as well as contemporary gems. Taken
together, the record brings the same spirit of healing and
compassion that he brought the country in those days after
September 11. Clearly, Daniel’s strength is in
translating music into the warm embrace of community.
“I’ve always wanted to record
an inspirational album,” Daniel says. “Every album
I’ve done has included a song of faith on it. In concert,
I often end with ‘God Bless America.’ The theme of
God and country has always been a part of my life, so I thought
my next album should be something that really outlines what I
believe in. It’s really a universal album.”
Besides beautiful and timeless songs sung
in Daniel’s full-bodied tenor, the album features two
hallmarks: a pair of stunning duets with soprano Lea Salonga,
best-known as the star of Broadway’s “Miss
Saigon” and “Flower Drum Song,” and the last
three musical arrangements ever written by the late
composer-arranger Johnnie Carl, long-time Crystal Cathedral
Musical Director.
Salonga teams with Daniel on Andrew
Lloyd-Webber’s “Pie Jesu” from
“Requiem” and the traditional “Panis
Angelicus.” “We knew we were going to do
‘Panis Angelicus,’” Daniel says of his plans
with Salonga, whom he met while both were doing a project with
the West Point Glee Club. “While in the studio, I asked
her if she would try ‘Pie Jesu,’ and she came and
laid down one of the most beautiful renditions I’ve ever
heard.”
Rodriguez and Carl had met when Daniel
started performing at the Crystal Cathedral. “We were
speculating that because Johnnie wrote for the Cathedral, which
is such a cavernous space, that his arrangements would be just
as lofty,” Daniel suggests. “It was a great
marriage because I love full orchestras and powerful music.
There was a brilliance to his art. ‘Amazing Grace’
builds with intensity and incorporates the theme from
Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ in a dramatic finale. I
don’t know anyone else who would have thought of that.
I’m proud to be recording his last works.”
In addition, Carl’s vision lives on
in the songs “How Great Thou Art” and “On
Eagles’ Wings.”
The record also contains traditional works
such as “Joyful Joyful,” “Ave Maria”
and “Nearer My God To Thee,” which comes in two
versions. One is arranged in a Spanish style by Allyn
Ferguson—tapping into the roots of Daniel’s
Spanish-speaking heritage, having grown up in a Puerto Rican
home—and the other is a larger than life arrangement by
MGM veteran Sammy Nestico
In a more contemporary vein, Daniel
includes “An American Hymn,” which was arranged by
the song’s composer Lee Holdridge and has been recorded
by Placido Domingo, and the Celtic-flavored “The Water Is
Wide.” Both songs tied into the goals Daniel set for IN
THE PRESENCE.
“I chose music that would achieve
continuity among the three albums I’ve recorded,”
says Daniel. “‘An American Hymn’ relives the
patriotic sentiment of my first album, THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA.
‘The Water is Wide’ conveys a feeling of deep love
that builds a bridge to my second CD, FROM MY HEART. The
overall spirituality of IN THE PRESENCE connects all
three.”
For the second time, Daniel recorded in
Prague with the stellar musicians of the Czech Philharmonic
Chamber Orchestra. The setting brought a true Old World essence
to songs that have endured the test of time.
“Prague has this great
atmosphere,” says Daniel. “There is a sense of
being at home, being comfortable. The old city is gorgeous, and
for the time you’re there, you feel part of its old
European tradition.”
As with every “overnight”
success, Daniel’s road to his current place as
“America’s Beloved Tenor” was long and rife
with all the detours and potholes of every life path. He began
singing in his youth, the product of a musical, multi-cultural
family where his Puerto Rican roots intermingled with the rich
fabric of New York City. His father and grandfather both sang.
Others in his family played various instruments. By junior high
school, he was enrolled in theater arts and performing in
musicals as well as dramatic roles.
At 16, he presented his first recital at
Carnegie Hall; at 17, he was billed as the “17-year-old
Baritone.” Then, at 19, he put music aside to raise his
family, going to work to make ends meet. For five years, he did
just about any job that would put food on the table: short
order cook, catering chef, cab driver, truck driver. But, at
24, he decided to go back into music, which he did with a very
entrepreneurial spirit.
“I hired a piano player, dusted off
my sheet music from Carnegie, rented a hall, made out the
flyers, sold tickets, collected the money at the back of the
house, then went to the front, put on my tux and did the
show,” he remembers. “I made $200, and I began my
trek back into the music business.”
He invested his money at Kinkos in a cover
letter, some 8x10 photos and a program of the music with a few
reviews and shipped them out in a folder to every church in the
Yellow Pages. He started getting offers for shows.
“I thought of churches,” he
recalls, “because of my years as Leader of Song,
participating in countless weddings and funeral services. Also,
churches come with their own audiences. They’d do the
selling, I’d give them a modest rate, and it would
basically be a fundraiser, and it started to steamroll. Every
opportunity that came my way, I welcomed with open
arms.”
Meanwhile, he worked at the post office,
and then as a police officer in the New York City Police
Department. It was in uniform that local New York audiences
began to discover his voice and his passion for the music he
sang. As an “official singer” for the NYPD
Ceremonial Unit, he sang at official functions, and later, at
memorials in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.
Before long, then-New York Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani helped set up an audition at the Metropolitan Opera
that Daniel now calls “a tragedy.” “What
makes you think a policeman can sing at the Met?” was the
first comment that greeted him as he arrived. He was only
allowed to sing two notes before being dismissed.
Through the Mayor, Placido Domingo heard
the story, and he told Giuliani he would give the singer a
listen. Domingo was in the planning stages for his Young
Artists program at the time.
“The same day the Yankees won the
Pennant in 2001,” says Daniel, “I went to the Met
and sang for Maestro Domingo, and he invited me to study with
him in Washington. I left the Met on a cloud, sang the National
Anthem at Yankee Stadium, saw the Mayor, told him what had
happened, and he said, ‘You have to do that, it’s
your calling,’ and I said, ‘Well, you’ll have
to give me the time off.’” Daniel studied with
Maestro Domingo for a year and half.
Since then, he has performed at the 2002
Winter Olympics, the PBS Memorial Day concert in Washington,
D.C., the Tournament of Roses Parade, the 2004 Republican
National Convention and President Bush’s
“Celebration of Freedom” Inauguration concert, and
on television’s “The Late Show with David
Letterman,” “Larry King Live,” “Live
with Regis and Kelly” and “Oprah,” among many
other high profile events. He officially retired from the NYPD
in June of 2004.
Now with three records under his belt,
Daniel is looking to the future with the same inquisitive
optimism that has brought him to this point. His goals include
the Broadway stage, opera and, possibly, acting in dramatic
roles. “I don’t want to limit myself,” he
says. “For me, life is an experience, life is a ride; you
can’t say ‘I’m going to take this road, and
that’s it.’ Life has twists and turns, and you have
to be able to navigate through them. Always consult your higher
power. And let yourself be led too. People say ‘What do
you want to do?’ and I say, ‘Well, God knows what
I’ll be doing. I just kind of follow the signs.’
There have always been doors that open for me, and it’s
having the courage to walk through them and experience
what’s behind them that has made life interesting and has
gotten me where I am. It’s about enjoying the
ride.”