Grammy nominated drummer Damion Reid hails from West Covina, California. He is the son of a well-respected bassist and astute operatic singer and teacher. By the age of three, Damion was already playing in church. At twelve, Damion began being mentored by the world-renowned drummer Billy Higgins.
After high school, Damion attended the New England Conservatory of Music. It was while in Boston between the years of 1998 and 1999 that he received the prestigious Alan Dawson scholarship. He then was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of Southern California. Soon finding himself trekking to New York City to attend The New School. He then began performing and touring alongside Greg Osby, Terence Blanchard, Robert Glasper, Bunky Green, Steve Coleman, Steve Lehman, Jacky Terrasson, Ravi Coltrane, Reggie Workman, Miles Okazaki, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Robert Hurst, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jason Moran, Mark Shim, Ben Monder, Liberty Ellman, Laurent Coq, Greg Ward, Jure Pukl, Jonathan Finlayson, David Binney, Mark Turner, Lauryn Hill and many others.
Damion is a wine expert and has participated in tastings on each of the previous sailings of Blue Note at Sea, as well as performing with Robert Glasper and Vicente Archer in the Robert Glasper Trio.