Home » Jazz Musicians » Damon Banks

Damon Banks

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Damon Banks has performed with and / or recorded with some of the entertainment industry’s brightest stars, creative artists and innovative musicians. Most of these artists defy category and genre.

These artists include:

George Benson, Peter Gabriel, Caetano Veloso, Angelique Kidjo, Hassan Hakmoun, Chico Hamilton, Hubert Laws, Arto Lindsay, The Neville Brothers, Ronny Jordan, Eileen Ivers, Karsh Kale, Majek Fashek, “Wadada” Leo Smith, KRS- ONE, Marc Ribot, Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Nat Adderley, Noel Pointer, Diedre Murray, Jamshied Sharifi, George Howard, Loose Ends, Bobby Womack, Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee, Sekou Sundiata, DJ. SPOOKY, Min Xiao-Fen, Ntozake Shange, Adam Rudolph, Saul Williams, Roxane Butterfly and Eric Gadd (to name a few)

His bass playing can be heard on these soundtracks:
“Footsteps In Africa” (Kiahkeya films - Kathi Von Koerber, director) “Muppets from Space” (Henson / Sony films -Tim Hill, director) “NBC Cosby Mysteries” (NBC)

He has written songs for George Benson ("That's Right", GRP records - Voted #1 Jazz album of 1996) and Miki Howard ("Three Wishes", Peak / Concord records - Grammy nominated album)

In 2008 he received the DCAC / NYSCA grant and premiered his multimedia theater piece entitled “Resistance: A Maroon Story”

In May 2014, he will be releasing his first CD as a leader entitled “Travelguides” (featuring an all-star roster of New York City’s finest musicians)

Damon is a member of A.F of M (Local 802) and ASCAP. He plays Fender basses, uses GHS strings and uses Epifani amplification.

Gear

Fender Basses, Gallien-Krueger Amps, GHS Strings, EMG pickups


Tags

1
Album Review

Italian Surf Academy + Denver Butson: Ennio Morricone Is Dissolving

Read "Ennio Morricone Is Dissolving" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro


Diciassette frammenti poetico-musicali, svarianti da mezzo minuto a poco più di tre, raccolti in forma di suite in meno di mezz'ora, è quanto ci arriva da questo cd del trio diretto dal chitarrista napoletano Marco Cappelli, di fatto newyorchese d'adozione, abbinato alla recitazione di Denver Butson, autore del poema del titolo, spalmato su alcune delle tracce del lavoro. Diciamo subito che, come non di rado accade in contesti del genere, l'interazione fra le due componenti in gioco ...

13
Album Review

Arun Ramamurthy Trio: New Moon

Read "New Moon" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Violinist Arun Ramamurthy is a first-generation Indian American artist. His ancestral roots in India run deep, and his musical roots there run deep, too. He has embraced American jazz but remains artistically tethered to his parents' homeland. 2014's' Jazz Carnatica (Self Produced) (review here), by his Arun Ramamurthy Trio, showcased his talents for walking the line between the old world and the new. New Moon, coming ten years after Jazz Carnatica, features, again, Sameer Gupta on drums and ...

8
Album Review

Hu Vibrational: Timeless

Read "Timeless" reviewed by Geno Thackara


An Adam Rudolph recording is less a collection of musical pieces than of sound paintings. The elements he works with are musical ones--any instrument known to mankind might be used, and often even used to play notes--but traditions of form and melody tend to be tossed out the window from the start. The tones are treated as daubs of paint on a palette, splashed here and there whenever they will add something to whichever imaginary landscape he is evoking at ...

Read more articles
Primary Instrument

Bass, electric

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Current faculty member of Poughkeepsie Day School. Has taught and conducted workshops at Interlochen School of the Arts, Cal Arts, Medger Evers College, Bard College and St. Anns School (Brooklyn, New York)

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Cosmic Cliffs

Adhyâropa Records
2025

buy

Ennio Morricone Is...

41st Parallel Records
2025

buy

New Moon

Greenleaf Music
2024

buy

Timeless

Meta Records
2023

buy

Transit Net

Filtron M
2021

buy

Resonant Bodies

Meta Records
2021

buy

Cosmic Cliffs

From: Cosmic Cliffs
By Damon Banks

Serpentine

From: Timeless
By Damon Banks

Parallax

From: Resonant Bodies
By Damon Banks

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.