Jaleel Shaw (born February 11, 1978) is an American jazz alto saxophonist.
Biography Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Shaw attended Greene Street Friends School, the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and graduated from George Washington High School (Philadelphia).
He received a dual degree in Music Education and Performance in 2000 from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He subsequently attended the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, from which he received a master's degree in Jazz Performance in May 2002. He was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition that year. In 2008 he was awarded ASCAP's 2008 Young Jazz Composer Award.
Shaw released his first CD, Perspective in 2005. It was reviewed as one of the top debut albums of that year by All About Jazz and was deemed a "convincing opening statement in what promises to be an important career". In 2006 Shaw played as a member of the World Saxophone Quartet, appearing on their album Political Blues. Shaw released his sophomore recording, Optimism, in 2008, followed by Soundtrack of Things to Come in 2013. , released in 2021, features solo alto and soprano saxophones with added electronic effects. In 2025 he released Painter of the Invisible, his first album with a full band since 2013.
Jaleel Shaw is a member of the Mingus Big Band. Shaw performed with Roy Haynes' band for 14 years.
Discography
As leader Year recordedTitleLabelPersonnel/Notes2005PerspectiveFresh SoundSextet, with Mark Turner (tenor saxophone), Lage Lund (guitar), Robert Glasper (piano), Vicente Archer (bass), and Johnathan Blake (drums)2008OptimismChanguSextet, with Lage Lund (guitar), Robert Glasper (piano), Joe Martin (bass), and Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Johnathan Blake (drums)2013Soundtrack of Things to ComeChanguQuartet, with Lawrence Fields (piano), Boris Kozlov (bass), and Johnathan Blake (drums)2021EchoesChanguSolo alto and soprano saxophones2025Painter of the Invisible ChanguMost tracks quartet, with Lawrence Fields (piano), Ben Street (bass), and Joe Dyson (drums)
As sideman Year recordedLeaderTitleLabel2017Kinfolk: Postcards from EverywhereRopadope2013Colors of a DreamHighNote2011Roy-AltyDreyfus2011State of ArtConcord2006WhereasDreyfus
References