Damien Sneed, composer, pianist, and vocalist
released his new digital CD, Jazz In Manhattan on Friday, September 20 on his
boutique label, LeChateau Earl Records. Jazz In Manhattan focuses on Sneed’s
considerable chops as a jazz interpreter and includes such classics as “Over
The Rainbow,” “Nature Boy,” and “Pure Imagination,” as well as other standards
and gospel favorites, “Moanin’,” “Come Sunday,” “God Bless The Child,” and
“Wade in the Water.” The album features Grammy Award winner Ben Williams
(bass), Jonathan Barber (drums), and Julius Rodriguez (piano). Jazz in
Manhattan is available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and all digital
platforms everywhere.
“‘Jazz In Manhattan’” is an exciting release
because not only is it my first release as a bandleader in the jazz genre but
recording each tune has been on my wish list for some time now. Many members of
my audience base are only familiar with me in other genres of music, but this
gives people an opportunity to experience a different side of me artistically.”
The
multi-genre recording and arts educator recently joined the faculty of the
Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches graduate-level courses in
conducting, African American Music History, a singer/songwriter ensemble, a
gospel music ensemble, and private lessons in piano, voice, and composition.
Sneed studied at some of the finest conservatories and universities, including
Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music – Piano Performance; the
Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University; New York University, where he
earned a Master of Music in Music Technology: Scoring for Film and Multimedia;
and the Manhattan School of Music. Sneed will also graduate with his doctorate
in Orchestral Conducting from USC in 2020.
Sneed
was a member of the faculty at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at
New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Nyack College. His other
professional affiliations have included The Juilliard School as a staff
accompanist, Jazz at Lincoln Center as an artistic consultant, and the City
University of New York (CUNY) as a professor of music. In 2015, Sneed
established the Damien Sneed Performing Arts Institute, a division of the
Damien Sneed Foundation.
The
multi-genre recording artist has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B
with legends including the late Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Jessye
Norman, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, and many others. He
established his label, LeChateau Earl Records in 2009, which reflects his
varied musical interests and features critically-acclaimed artists from
classical, jazz, gospel and other musical genres. He has released several CD
projects, Damien Sneed: We Shall Overcome (January 2019), The Three Sides of
Damien Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul (July 2018), Broken To
Minister: The Deluxe Edition (March 2015), Spiritual Sketches (June 2013), and
Introspections LIVE (January 2010).
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