Jaleel Shaw

Alto and soprano saxophonist and bandleader Jaleel Shaw was the winner of the Rising Star Alto Saxophone category in the 2014 Downbeat Critics Poll. He is a member of the Roy Haynes Quartet, is featured on Tom Harrell’s Colors of a Dream, and has also performed with Christian McBride, Jason Moran, the Mingus Big Band, Pat Metheny, Stefon Harris, Roy Hargrove, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Jimmy Cobb, among others.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jaleel was constantly surrounded by music and picked up the alto saxophone at an early age. He immersed himself in the local jazz scene, studying and performing with many of the great musicians and educators that the city has historically produced. After graduating from high school, he received a full tuition scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, from which he received a dual degree in music education and performance. While at Berklee, Jaleel received the Billboard Endowed Scholarship for Outstanding Academic and Musical Achievement (1998), Woodwind Department Chair Awards (1998, 2000), the Boston Jazz Society Award (1999), and the Outstanding Student Teacher Award (2000). He then received a scholarship to Manhattan School of Music, where he obtained his Master’s degree in jazz performance. Jaleel’s debut album, Perspective (2005), received rave reviews from the New York Times and Jazzwise magazine. All About Jazz named the album one of the top five debut albums of 2005.

His composition The Heavyweight Champion received the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. In 2006, Jaleel joined the Roy Haynes Quartet and was featured on the legendary drummer’s Grammy-nominated album Whereas.

In 2008 Jaleel founded his label Changu Records on which he released his second album, Optimism. This album received reviews from the New York Times, Downbeat and All About Jazz, among other publications. That same year he received a second ASCAP Young Composer Award for the composition The Flipside and was nominated for the Jazz Journalist Association’s Up & Coming Jazz Artist Award. Jaleel was listed in JazzTimes magazine’s 2011 Readers Poll for Alto Saxophonist of the Year, along with Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Bunky Green, and Kenny Garrett. In March of 2013, Jaleel released a new album of original compositions titled The Soundtrack of Things To Come on his label Changu Records. The album features a working quartet and has been well received by the New York Times, New York City Jazz Record, and All About Jazz.