Special Guests:
Thomas Barber – flugelhorn tracks #2,6,8
Andres Boyarsky – tenor sax track #3,6,8
Don Braden – alto flute track #2
Produced by:
John Lee Executive Producer: Lisa Broderick
Price: $10.00
BIOGRAPHY:
Sharel Cassity
While most girls were interested in
playing with dolls at the tender age of eight, Sharel Cassity(pronounced sha-REL) was begging
for a saxophone.Thankfully, she received an old Conn alto for Christmas the
following year, and as the saying goes, "the rest is history,"
because clearly she is developing into one of the most vibrant
jazz saxophonists to come along in quite sometime.
Born in, Iowa City, Iowa, Cassity
traveled extensively and eventually settled in the Oklahoma
City area for the majority of her adolescent years. It was in
that city's diversity--it's Jazz history, Native American
culture (a part of her lineage), nature and environment--that
formed indelible influences on the young musician. Her parents
also inspired the music within, as she recalls her father
playing jazz and classical repertoire on his Hammond B3 organ,
piano, or trumpet; and her mother filling the house with the
sounds of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Michael
Jackson and other pop artists.
Torn between jazz and classical music in
high school, her decision was solidified when a friend gave
her a mix tape of Count Basie's "Freckle Face," Miles'
"E.S.P," and Cannonball Adderley's--At
the Lighthouse--and as Cassity states, "I knew I had to
play this music."After attending the University of
Central Oklahoma's Jazz program on full scholarship, she
performed in the small but musically rich Oklahoma jazz scene
before relocating to New York City in 1999.
After living two years in New York, Cassity earned a
Scholarship to the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music
to complete her BA. It was there that she she studied with
saxophonist Vincent Herring, Steve Wilson and Jimmy Greene as
well as receiving inspiration from fellow classmates and
alumni such as brothers Marcus & E.J Strickland, and Robert
Glasper, who were all in attendance at the New School around
the same time period.
In 2005 Cassity was
awarded a full scholarship to the Juilliard Institute for Jazz
Studies and completed her MA under the direction of Victor
Goines.It was there that she formed
strong relationships with fellow classmates (Michael Dease,
Tom Barber, and Alum Adam Birnbaum) who also appeared on her
first solo album, Just
for You (DW Records, 2008).
Dedicated to playing
jazz with the highest level of creativity and execution
possible, Cassity articulates her mission statement: "My art
is an improvised form of music that is steeped in the
tradition of blues, swing, bebop and post bop; I am interested
in using that history to help reflect the sound of my
generation and the time we are living. I hope that I can be a
positive example and make a lasting contribution to this great
art form."
These contributions continue to materialize in agrowing number of rewarding
experiences: the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Jimmy Heath's Big Band,
Roy Hargrove Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie All Star Sextet and All
Star Big Band; smallgroup group work with Harry
Whitaker, Ingrid Jensen, Mark Whitfield, and Michael Dease;
recordings which include Jason Hainsworth Jazz Orchestra,
Kaleidoscope (DW
Records), Adam Birnbaum,
Travels (Smalls, 2008), Fat Cat Big Band,
Angels Praying for
Freedom (Smalls, 2009) and
Snow Road, by Tom
Barber's Janus Block (DCleff Records, 2009).
Cassity's sophomore release,
Relentless (Jazz
Legacy Productions),
is a testament to her abilities as a performer, writer, and
leader, featuring rising jazz luminaries--Jeremy Pelt(trumpet), Michael Dease
(trombone),Orrin Evans (piano), Dwayne Burno
(bass), and E.J. Strickland (drums).It is a shining example of her
poise, song-bird lyricism, and purpose.
