About Damon Banks

Born and raised in The Bronx, New York Damon Banks has evolved into a "world musician" in the truest sense of the word. Growing up in New York City, he was fully immersed in all aspects of the arts beginning at an early age. Due to this creatively fertile environment, he was enveloped in a wide range of musical genres, artistic approaches and "schools of thought". Damon was fortunate to attend the prestigious High School of Music & Art (as a visual artist) Those 4 years were some of the most inspirational and impactful years of his life (musically and artistically) He attended and graduated from Fisk University (B.A.Music) and afterward decided to pursue a career in music. Since then, he has evolved into an "in-demand” bassist, composer and teaching artist (teaching young creatives is a very important part of his life) Since his college days, Damon has worked with some of the music industry’s most creative artists, innovative musicians and brightest stars. His ability to adapt creatively and remain open-minded has led him into countless collaborations with genre-bending, musical trendsetters worldwide.
Some of these artists include:
George Benson, Peter Gabriel, Caetano Veloso, Angelique Kidjo, Chico Hamilton, Hassan Hakmoun, Arto Lindsay, Marc Ribot, Loose Ends, Wadada Smith, The Neville Brothers, Andre de Shields, Bobby Womack, C.J. Chenier, Saul Williams, Noel Pointer, Ronny Jordan, Majek Fashek, KRS-ONE, Lillias White, Brooklyn Raga Massive, Phyllis Hyman, George Howard, Karsh Kale, DJ. SPOOKY, The Weather Girls, Eric Gadd, Min Xiao-Fen, Ntozake Shange, Me’lissa Morgan, Yungchen llamo, "Butch" Morris, Roxane Butterfly, Angela Bofill and Adam Rudolph (to name a few)
He is currently touring and rcording with "ART" (Arun Ramamurthy Trio, featuring Arun Ramamurthy (violin) ans Sameer Gupta (drums)
In addition to numerous tours and recordings, his bass playing appears on these soundtracks: “Footsteps In Africa” (Kiahkeya films) and “Muppets from Space” (Henson / Sony films)
As a composer, 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. He also co-wrote the singles “Where Are You Now" (George Benson) and “Kiss Of A Stranger” (Miki Howard)
Lately, Damon has been an international teaching artist, and has led and / or workshops and facilitated grant-supported teaching initiatives for:
The El Sistema Organization, Bard College, Interlochen School of the Arts, Cal Arts, Wesleyan University, St. Ann’s School and Medger Evers College.