damonbanks.net

Welcome to my website. I send everyone who visits here love, peace, joy and happiness!

Biography:

Born and raised in The Bronx, New York Damon Banks has often been described as a “world musician”, in the truest sense of the word. He was fully immersed in, and encouraged to pursue, all aspects of the arts from an early age. His creatively fertile environment exposed him to a wide range of musical genres, artistic approaches and schools of thought. Damon graduated from the High School of Music & Art as an Art major. According to him “those 4 years were some of the most inspirational and impactful years of my life, musically and spiritually”. After High School, he attended the legendary HBCU Fisk University, and graduated with a B.A. in Music. Back in New York City, he decided to commit to a career in music. 

Since then, he has evolved into an in-demand bassist, composer, producer and teaching artist. Throughout his career, Damon has worked with some of the music industry’s most creative artists, innovative musicians and brightest stars. His ability to creatively shift gears, and remain open-minded, has led him into countless collaborations with genre-bending, multi-platinum selling, musical trendsetters worldwide. 

Some of these artists include: 

Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, George Benson, Caetano Veloso, Angelique Kidjo, Chico Hamilton, Hassan Hakmoun, Arto Lindsay, Loose Ends, Wadada Leo Smith, Nels Cline, The Neville Brothers, Bernie Worrell, Mtume, Marc Ribot, The Weather Girls, Bobby Womack, The Frankfurt Ballet, C.J. Chenier,  Noel Pointer, Sekou Sundiata, Ronny Jordan, KRS-ONE, Majek Fashek, Karsh Kale, Angela Bofill, Lillias White, Sekou Sundiata, Andre de Shields, Phyllis Hyman, George Howard, Saul Williams, Eric Gadd, Ntozake Shange, "Butch" Morris, Melba Moore, Meli'sa Morgan, Brooklyn Raga Massive, and Souleymane Faye (to name a few) 

Aside from his own original project “Travelguides”, Damon performs and records with several, genre-bending, forward leaning ensembles such as: 

Arun Ramamurthy Trio (Arun Ramamurthy, Sameer Gupta, Damon Banks)

https://www.arunramamurthytrio.com/

Filtron M (Manu Koch, Damon Banks, Harvey Wirht + friends) https://www.filtronm.com/

Whispering Worlds (Aaron Shragge, Luke Schwartz, Deric Dickens, Damon Banks) https://www.aaronshragge.com/whisperingworlds

Italian Surf Academy (Marco Cappelli, Dave Miller, Damon Banks + POET Denver Butson)

https://41stparallelrecords.bandcamp.com/

Quadrature (Neel Murgai, Indofunk Satish, Damon Banks, Tripp Dudley) https://www.quadraturemusic.com/

His bass playing can be heard on “Footsteps In Africa” (Kiahkeya films) “Muppets from Space” (Henson / Sony films) and “New York Undercover” (FOX) among others.

As a composer, his writing credits include: “Where Are You Now" (George Benson) and “Kiss Of A Stranger” (Miki Howard)  In addition, Damon wrote, produced and arranged his 2014 debut LP “Travelguides” (and several tracks on Violinist Gwen Laster’s “Sneak Preview” / "I Hear You Smiling" / "Gameboard" records)

Damon is an international teaching artist, and has led workshops for The El Sistema Organization, Bard College, Interlochen School of the Arts, Cal Arts, Wesleyan University, Roosevelt University and Medger Evers College.

In 2013, he released his first recording as a leader. “Travelguides” features some of New York City's most innovative, and creative musical artists.

In 2025, Damon received the NYSCA/Arts-Mid-Hudson Community Regrant Commission to write and present his first multi-media theater piece entitled “A Maroon Tale” (featuring a 5 piece band, actor, movement and visual projection) The latest version was performed on July 22nd for the Re/VENUE Festival at Mabou Mines, NYC.

Currently, he is a professor in the Jazz department at Bard College, and serves on the board of The Highlands Current.