Damon Zick

Damon Zick is a saxophonist, woodwind performer, composer and educator residing in Burbank, California. He was born and raised in Seattle before heading to the East Coast in 1993 to study saxophone, clarinet, composition and jazz at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. After two years in Miami Beach where he performed and recorded with the New World Symphony, Mr. Zick relocated to Los Angeles to complete a Masters degree in Jazz Winds from the California Institute of the Arts where he studied with Charlie Haden. Since then he has been straddling the worlds of jazz and classical music as an active freelance musician in Los Angeles. Damon's jazz quintet “Damon Zick and Friends” has toured the U.S. extensively and released two CD's of original compositions, “We Are Large” with Evander Music and “The Outing”. He regularly performs with world/jazz group Quarteto Nuevo, the Westland Trio, the Industrial Jazz Group, and John Tesh. In addition he has shared the stage with jazz artists such as Bob Mintzer, Vinny Golia, Joe Henderson, Joe LaBarbera, Jack Sheldon, Adam Benjamin, Larry Koonse, and Nate Wood among others. As a founding member of the Los Angeles Jazz Collective, Damon has worked hard to build a stronger jazz community in Los Angeles. He has been a featured artist at the Reno Jazz Festival, Bakersfield Jazz Festival and UW Eau Claire Jazz Festival. As a classical musician Damon has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, Santa Barbara Symphony, the Ojai Festival Chamber Ensemble, and on the Los Angeles Philharmonics Green Umbrella Series among others. He was a featured performer on Los Angeles Opera's Grammy winning recording of Kurt Weill: Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny. Recent solo appearances include “Bohemian Rhapsody” with MUSE/IQUE with Damon playing the part of Freddy Mercury on alto sax. This past year Damon was hired by the U.S. State Department to help adjudicate ensembles for placement into the American Music Abroad program. He is on the faculty of the Pasadena Conservatory of Music and has performed clinics and master classes at colleges and universities across the U.S.