Daniel Zamir was born 1982 in Pesach Tikva to a secular family and started playing saxophone at the age of eleven. He is a graduate of Thelma Yellin high school of arts in Israel. After he finished his studies he left to New York City, where he began showing interest in Jewish, Hasidic and East European music as well as West Indian rhythmic approaches. He completed his studies at The New School in 2002.

In New York he was discovered by the Jewish composer-saxophonist John Zorn, who signed him to a contract in his recording label "Tzadik".

Under the "Tzadik" label