I joined Reedsy on November 16, 2020. It was after reading about a short story prompt competition on their site, reedsyprompts. I have enjoyed getting to read such amazing stories from such talented writers worldwide. I live in Miami, Florida USA and am of Cuban descent. I am fluent in 7 languages; French, English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian and Japanese. I studied music all my life; I am listing my musical history below this if you are interested. I am telling you all this because I want whoever reading this to understand why I started writing. I have spent all my life collecting stories from around the world; I hope to tell them now through my books. I have written one novelette and have begun my second body of work currently underway. I look forward to corresponding with any writers on here. If you don’t like my writing, that is quite alright as I hope to return to touring with my music after the pandemic. But who knows, you might like it, and thus these last few months of the pandemic will benefit all those because that is all I plan to do. Thank you for your kindness in advance. I would also like you to know I love to cook, smoke my pipe, watch excellent films and play chess.
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Damián J Sanchez is one of the world’s most versatile woodwind artist and vocalist performing today. His musical journey began in 1992, 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 many 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 pursued his studies, completing his Bachelor of Music in 2004 studying under legendary oboist Dr. Daniel F Ross.
After college Damian J continued to study at the graduate level attending the University of Memphis after they offered him a full graduate assistantship to study under recognized jazz composer/ arranger and musician, Dr. Jack T Cooper and 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, they chose Damian J 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, the United States Air Force-Band of the West asked him to perform as a special guest soloist traveling with them throughout Texas, New Mexico and Nevada. The USAF tour went so well, he received an invitation 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 longstanding 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, an alternative path led Sanchez to audition for the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Damian J won 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 returned 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 established 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 and 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 Knights have performed all throughout Miami, and in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach and Marco Island. Damian J Project’s latest endeavor was creating the Miami Polka Kings and performing authentic German folk music during Oktoberfest 2019; and continuing to develop other ensembles within the project. Each small group represents a unique 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 Kendall Conservatory of Music as professor of woodwinds, piano, voice and classical guitar and completing his second album, “Nada en tu interior”, now in post-production for release in 2020.
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