Keyboardist, singer-songwriter and teacher who received his BM in Composition from California State University in 1984 and his MA in Jazz Studies (Vocal) at the University of Southern California.
He was a member of The Jimmy Joyce Singers, a musical family known for its Christmas albums and television appearances and went on to have success with other groups, as well. In 1986, he took home a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Group for his work with 2 + 2, the brainchild of Clare Fischer.
David stayed busy in the recording studios in the 1980s and beyond. In 1989, he appeared on the Natalie Cole album, Good to Be Back. He was one of various artists who contributed to the Yuletide collection, A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 2. In 1998, he joined Burt Bacharach for One Amazing Night. Then he was a member of the choir and chorus on Amy Grant’s 1999 stocking stuffer, A Christmas to Remember.
David has also worked on several film soundtracks, including the 1999 animated version of The King & I. In 2001, he reunited with Natalie Cole, this time playing synthesizer on Love Songs. More movie work followed, on the soundtracks of Van Helsing and King Kong, released in 2004 and 2005, respectively. In 2006, he sang backing vocals on Weird Al Yankovic’s Straight Outta Lynwood.
He has been involved with a pair of bands since, including Dharma Buds, which he formed with his old college buddy David Vito Gregoli. They released New World Jazz Order in 2007. In 2008, David sang background vocals on Playlist Plus: A Very Special Christmas. Of late, he has been busy with another band, Gopher Gods, a group that walks a fine line between folk and futuristic.
David is also a gifted composer who has scored films for the American Film Institute and documentaries for the Public Broadcasting System.
In the field of musical education he has been a member of the faculty at Azusa Pacific University’s College of Music and the Arts, taught singing at the LAMA Academy in Pasadena and singing and vocal performance at Pasadena City College.
Here he is performing “Nature Boy” with the Dharma Buds…
Sources:
- http://www.apu.edu/cma/faculty/djoyce/
- http://www.ric-masten.net/Dance%20pages/OtherRenditions.html
- http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Artist/David-Joyce/c/139166
- http://cdbaby.com/cd/dharmabuds
- http://profile.myspace.com
- http://www.gophergods.com/about.html
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/david-joyce-mn0000109913/credits
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/717699-David-Joyce?filter_anv=0&type=Credits