Jaleel Shaw with the John Toomey Trio at the Attucks Jazz Club

Born on February 11, 1978, in Philadelphia, Jaleel Shaw emerged from the city's rich musical landscape, studying at Greene Street Friends School and the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. He earned a dual degree in Music Education and Performance from Berklee College of Music in 2000, followed by a Master's in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in 2002. Shaw gained early recognition as a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition and later won the Rising Star Alto Saxophone category in the 2014 DownBeat Critics Poll. A longtime member of the Roy Haynes Quartet and contributor to Tom Harrell's Colors Of A Dream (HighNote, 2013), Shaw has also performed with jazz luminaries such as Chick Corea, Christian McBride, and Stefon Harris to name just a few. His compositions blend melodic sensitivity with bold exploration, earning praise as one of the finest saxophonists of his generation.

The audience at the season opening of the Jazz at the Attucks Theater season were treated to 90 minutes of extraordinary music by Shaw and the John Toomey with Toomey on piano, Jimmy Masters on bass and Frank Russo on drums. Playing mostly his own compositions with a few standards thrown in Shaw and company performed a high intensity concert that audience will not soon forget.

Following are photos from the night's performance.