Sanctified Soul: 1960s to Today

“An ambassador for classical and gospel music… His talent stretches across traditional divisions. In the realest sense, he uses his artistry to make our world a better place.” —Wynton Marsalis on Damien Sneed

Sanctified Soul: 1960s to Today is the third performance of Catskill Jazz Factory’s three-concert winter series, Classical, Jazz, and Soul: A Musical Offering. Tracing the American vocal tradition from 1860 to today, the series is led by prodigious multi-genre pianist, conductor, composer, producer, arranger, and educator Damien Sneed.

A spirited take on traditional sacred music, gospel and the Motown Sound, Sanctified Soul traces the lineage of those who changed the sound of gospel like the Clark Sisters, the Hawkins Family and Richard Smallwood, all the way to contemporaries like Donald Lawrence and Kirk Franklin. As part of this lineage, Sneed also explores the music of soulful virtuosos Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Sneed’s featured ensemble will include one of gospel’s staple instruments, the Hammond B3 organ, joined by a collection of today’s top young names in the NYC music scene alongside Sneed’s virtuosic vocal ensemble, The Levites.