Episode 023 - Sharel Cassity; Nominated as Rising Star Alto Saxophone by Downbeat Magazine for 9 years in a row

Having been nominated as Rising Star Alto Saxophone by Downbeat Magazine for 9 years in a row, Sharel Cassity is making a name for herself in the Jazz world. She's performed with Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Natalie Cole, Wynton Marsalis and many other Jazz legends.   She's also performed with mainstream artists such as Aretha Franklin, Natalie Merchant, KD Lang, Vanessa Williams and others. Some of the groups Sharel regularly performs with are the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and Dizzy Gillespie Afro Cuban Experience, Jimmy Heath Big Band, Nicholas Payton's TSO, and Cyrus Chestnut's Brubeck Quartet.   Sharel has performed at many of the major US Jazz Festivals with her own projects, ELEKTRA and the Sharel Cassity Quartet, and has 4 albums as a leader to her credit. The link to her full biography, along with more Resources for this episode, is on our website. Become a supporter of the Everything Saxophone Podcast! Go to our Patreon Page, and for a small monthly donation (from $2-$5), you get behind-the-scenes access to footage from the interviews that is not released anywhere else.