Damián J Sanchez is one of the world’s most versatile woodwind artist and vocalist

performing today. In 1992 his musical journey began learning the oboe in one of Miami’s
most dangerous subsectors of Little Havana. Music was his way of coping with his
surroundings throughout the late 1990s. It was not long before his attention turned to the
saxophone and piano. Within a year he began playing all three instruments while still being
in the 8th grade. His dedication to music landed him numerous accolades within the city and
the county being chosen for the All-County Honors Music Festival in 1995 on piano. It would
not be the last time as in 1999, Sanchez won principal oboist for all Miami-Dade County and
this time gained the attention of several colleges and universities including Arkansas State
University, where he decided to pursue his studies, completing his Bachelor of Music in 2004
studying under the legendary Dr. Daniel F Ross.
After college Damian J continued to study at the graduate level attending the University
of Memphis where he was offered a full graduate assistantship and got to study under
recognized jazz composer/ arranger and musician, Dr. Jack T Cooper as well as oboist Dr.
Michelle Vigneau. Having the guidance of such notable master musicians gave him the tools to
excel in his studies and successfully complete a Master of Music degree in 2006.
Upon completing his Master’s degree, living and performing in Memphis, Tennessee,
Damian J was chosen to tour with the Inner City All-Stars playing saxophone and clarinet in
cities around the country such as San Antonio, New Orleans, Charlotte and Fort Lauderdale.
Shortly thereafter in the fall of 2006, he was asked to perform with the United States Air
Force-Band of the West as a special guest soloist traveling with them throughout Texas, New
Mexico and Nevada. The USAF tour went so well he was asked to return in 2007 for a series
of performances in Las Vegas, Nevada.
From touring with such important organizations and freelancing, the next step in his career took him to the rivers of America, performing and becoming a part of the long
standing American tradition of “riverboating”. Sanchez performed on the American Queen, Columbia Queen and Delta Queen Paddlewheel steamboats up and down the mighty
Mississippi, Arkansas, Columbia and Snake Rivers of America while learning the timeless craft of Dixieland Jazz. It was in 2007, 2008 and again in 2012 that Damian J walked in
the footsteps of Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke, some of his greatest jazz heroes.
Following performing on the riverboats, a new path led Sanchez to audition for the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Damian J was picked out of several hundred applicants as the
saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist for this incredible musical ensemble. This new band took him all over the continental United States, Canada and Japan. He remained on the
Glenn Miller Orchestra from 2009 until 2012 when he decided to return to the American Queen Riverboat Company for another season.
Fate stepped in during the end of 2012 as Sanchez’s mother became ill. He would complete his contract on the boat and return to Miami to care for his debilitating mother. He
remained by her side until her passing in 2016. Returning to Miami, Damian J decided to establish a new and singular sound, the Damian J Project. This was a new concept in
performance. Since 2013, the Damian J Project has been Miami’s only open source musical collaboration dedicated to the preservation, development and education of jazz. After
months of freelancing in Miami, he gathered his favorite musicians, each of which focused on specific styles of jazz and they began recreating those sounds, studying the music as
deeply as possible.
Since its inception, the project has recorded and released one album, “Sessions 33 1/3” in 2016. Accolades include performances by Made from Scratch in San Juan, Puerto
Rico for the Heineken International Jazz Festival as well as concerts all over South Florida. Damian J has travelled to Portland, Oregon for several performances as part of a
TRAD305 tour. The TRAD305 also won “Best of Miami” band in 2016. Los Havana K nights have performed all throughout Miami, as well as in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach and
Marco Island. Damian J Project’s latest endeavor was creating the Miami Polka K ings and performing authentic German folk music during Octoberfest 2019; as well as
continuing to develop other ensembles within the project. Each small group represents a different style of music, from jazz to world music. Their purpose is to continue to advance
awareness and appreciation towards the art of making music, live, the way it used to be, and with quality, the way it should be. Sanchez continues to tour and perform music all
over the world, most recently playing in Marbella, Madrid, Genoa, Milan and Paris. He is on faculty at the K endall Conservatory of Music as professor of woodwinds, piano, voice
and classical guitar as well as completing his second album, “Nada en tu interior”, now in post-production for release in 2020.