Sharel Cassity

Listed as "Rising Star Alto Saxophone" in Downbeat Magazine for the past decade, Sharel (pron. "Sha-Relle") has appeared on the Today Show, won the 2007 ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award & has been inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Her four albums released as a leader have received top-rated reviews in publications like JazzTimes, Jazziz, Downbeat & American Indian News & earned her a cover story in Saxophone Journal. Selected to attend The Juilliard School Jazz program under full scholarship for a Masters in Music, Sharel earned her BFA from The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in 2005. A skilled and versatile sideman, Sharel is a regular member of the Dizzy Gillespie Latin Experience, Nicholas Payton TSO, Cyrus Chestnut Brubeck Quartet, and the Jimmy Heath Big Band. She has also performed alongside renowned Grammy-winning artists Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride & Wynton Marsalis. Sharel has toured 24 countries and performed at leading venues like the Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival & the North Sea Jazz Festival. In mainstream genres, Sharel joined Natalie Merchant on her recording "Paradise is Here" and has also performed with Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Williams, K.D. Lang, Fantasia, Trisha Yearwood, Ruben Blades, and DJ Logic. Sharel is a proud Vandoren Performing Artist.