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Alexander artiest Jaleel Shaw

Jaleel Shaw
"When it comes to buying reeds, I seem to run into the same problems every
time which are
;1.) I'll usually get a box that only has two or three reeds that actually play.
2.) The reeds that are playable don't last.
When I first opened my first box of Alexander D.C. Reeds, the first reed I played
was P - E - R - F - E - C -T. In fact it was so unbelievably perfect that I
immediately tried another to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The next reed was
exactly the same as the the first. I'm still amazed!
Alexander Reeds give me the ability to project and sing when playing in the sax
section of the Mingus Big Band and they allow me to control my sound in small
groups settings as well. With these reeds my sound is more rounded and less
stuffy. What's also important about these reeds is that they last! I don't have to
worry about a reed being worn out after a couple performances I've never been
this excited about reeds! Thank you Superial!"
Every decade or so a few uniquely gifted young saxophonists seem to stand out
and emerge from the thousands of players who take up the instrument and it
has been that way since the beginning of jazz. The term "Young Lions" has
been applied in recent years to try and describe these players (not all that
adequately, I think), so I'd rather say "Exceptional Young Talents".
Altoist Jaleel Shaw can definitely be said to be one of these talents. What is
exceptional about his playing is his unusually mature grasp and command of
the instrument and its tradition. And at the same time he is now participating in
its future development in a manner that belies his age.
It was actually from the unprecedented recommendations of several of our
other World Artists that I first took notice of Jaleel and after listening to a CD of
a recent live gig of his, it was obvious why he had been praised so highly. His
playing reveals the rare gift of being able to execute just about anything he
seems to hear in his mind and soul and I believe his talent is just going to
continue to flower in the coming years.
Jaleel grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where he studied with saxophonist Rayburn
Wright , Robert Landham, and jazz instructor Lovette Hines, whose students
have included Christian McBride and Joey Defrancesco. He also had many
mentors in Philadelphia, including John Blake, Byard Lancastar, Alfie Pollit, and
Grover Washington Jr. Jaleel attended the High School for Creative &
Performing Arts and later transferred and graduated from George Washington
High School. Upon graduating from high school, he received a full tuition
scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass.
He attended Berklee for four years and earned a dual degree in Music
Education and Performance in 2000. While attending Berklee, he received the
Billboard Endowed Scholarship for Outstanding Academic and Musical
achievement (1998), two Woodwind Dept. Chair Awards, The Outstanding
Student Teacher Award, and The Boston Jazz Society Award (1999).
Upon graduating from Berklee, Jaleel received a scholarship to attend the
Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he received his Masters in
Jazz Performance in May, 2002. He was also a finalist in the Thelonious Monk
International Saxophone Competition that year.
Jaleel has already performed with such internationally recognized artists as
Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Jeff Tain Watts, Arturo Sandoval,
Nicholas Payton, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, and the Count Basie
Orchestra and has performed internationally in Australia, China, London, Paris,
Italy, Finland, Africa, Scotland, Amsterdam, Austria, Spain, and Portugal, as well
as many cities in the U.S. . He is currently a member and co-leader of one of
the most critically acclaimed big groups in jazz's traditional capitol (New York),
the Charles Mingus Big Band, as well as being a part of the JazzReach
education group, and performing in various clubs with the Jaleel Shaw Quintet
ands other group projects. He can also be heard on recent recordings from the
Mingus Big Band, The Either Orchestra, The Count Basie Big Band, and
Jeremy Pelt Quartet.
Jaleel joins Temple University as a part-time instructor in fall 2003, and currently
performs with the Mingus Big Band, Prosody (a joint project with Marcus
Strickland), and with the Jaleel Shaw Quintet. His first album as a leader
"Perspective" was released on the Fresh Sound label and and it was listed in
the top 5 debut jazz cd's of 2005 by ALL ABOUT JAZZ Magazine.