I had the pleasure to sit down and dialogue with one of today's top innovators in music, Damion Reid. In this episode we discuss his early influences on the drums, one of which was learning and being mentored by legendary Jazz drummer, Billy Higgins. Damion discusses how he developed his sense of value for the elders, and a deep respect for history and the ancestors. We talk about how he came to know Robert Glasper and was a big part of Glasper's early trios which brought him a grammy nomination for the 2015 album "Covered." We discuss his most recent project with the group Selebeyone, which includes alto saxophonists Steve Lehman and Maciek Lasserre, MC's HPrizm and Gaston Bandimic with Damion Reid on drums. Selebeyone's latest album "Xaybu" is available now on all platforms.
Lastly we take a deep dive into Hip-Hop and some of his favorite MC's and producers.
Damion Reid is from West Covina, California a city east of Los Angeles.
He attended New England Conservatory of Music and The New School in NYC.
He has toured and performed alongside Greg Osby, Terence Blanchard, Steve Coleman, Robert Hurst, Reggie Workman, Jason Moran, Ravi Coltrane, Lauryn Hill and many others.