Dedicated to the craft of education for forty years and counting, widely respected as a musical pedagogue, referred to by Christian McBride as THE trumpet guru of the south,  Jim Daniel is among a rare breed of educators that consistently inspires students towards musical excellence.

With twenty-nine years experience in the Jacksonville, Florida area, Jim Daniel has worked as a music educator at Jacksonville University, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Landon Middle School of the Arts, La Villa School of the Arts, and First Baptist Academy. He served as Founding Director of the First Coast Community Music School at FSCJ, Founding Director of the First Baptist Academy Band, Director of Bands and a Founding Teacher at the KIPP Impact Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida. He is currently Band Director for the First Baptist Academy Band in Downtown Jacksonville and the Orchestra Director for the FBC High School Orchestra.

During his twenty years at LaVilla he has shared in the successes of students and performing ensembles, as they consistently received the highest honors on regional, national, and international levels in both classical and jazz genres. Ensemble honors include straight “Superior” ratings for over twenty years in the FBA Music Performance Assessment, 1st Place in the National Adjudicators Invitational (2004 and 2006), performances at the 1997 Midwest Clinic, The Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and the 50th Anniversary of D- day in Normandy, France. Recently his LaVilla Middle School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble was the Feature for the Savannah Jazz Festival High School Competition with Marcus Roberts and Marcus Printup.

Jim Daniel’s students have been featured on “From the Top” on National Public Radio and won such awards as the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition, International Trumpet Guild Concerto Competition, NFAA ARTS Awards in Jazz and Classical Trumpet, Principal Trumpet in Bands of America Orchestra, and the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. His students have gone on to perform in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Nicholas Payton, Marcus Printup, Jimmy Cobb, Jason Marsalis, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.

As many as twenty of his private students perform in the FMEA All-State Band, Orchestra, and Jazz Band every year.

Many of his students have received advanced degrees or are currently pursuing degrees from acclaimed schools such as Juilliard, Eastman, Florida State University, University of North Florida, University of North Texas, Miami-Frost School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin, North Western, and Curtis Institute.

Jim Daniel’s formal studies include training in music performance and education at Austin Peay State University and Western Kentucky University. Among Daniel’s principal teachers are John Rommel (Principal Trumpet - Louisville Symphony and Department Head at Indiana University), Jeff Bailey (Co- principal - Nashville Symphony), Richard Steffen (Austin Peay State University), and Gary Dilworth (California State University). He has also undertaken additional studies with renowned teachers such as Vincent DiMartino, Armando Ghitalla, and Raymond Crisara.

He is a member of the Florida Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, and The International Trumpet Guild.