Sheldon Reed Jr. was born on an air force base July 28, 1987 in Warner Robins, Georgia. Before he was one his family relocated to Houston, Texas where he spent his entire childhood. Music was always around him growing up in the church sitting through services, hearing praise & worship and observing the musicians play their instruments. Little did he know that music would someday grab his heart and lead him to his souls counterpoint.
Sheldon started taking drum lessons at the age of fourteen from a gifted teacher named Lester Grant. Listening to gospel music in church, playing to his parent’s records and songs on the radio, Sheldon taught himself how to play gospel and hip-hop music. Mr. Grant enhanced his musical aptitude by teaching him how to read music and introduced him to playing other styles such as Jazz and Latin music.
After strenuous auditions’, Sheldon got accepted into The High School for the Performing & Visual Arts in the Montrose district of Houston; a magnet school for the arts who sprung up music innovators such as, Herman Matthews, Robert Glasper, Beyonce Knowles, Kendrick Scott, Jason Moran and many more. HSPVA helped Sheldon broaden his horizons to different genres, styles and artists. It was there where he started to blossom and experiment, finding his own path.
After graduating from HSPVA, Sheldon made his way to Boston, Ma with a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music. While studying at Berklee, Sheldon has played with some amazing bands and musicians. He also was given the opportunity to study with the talented Ralph Peterson, Mark Whitfield and share the stage with Ron Mahdi, Akili Jamal Haynes as well as Yoron Israel and Lenny Stallworth. Sheldon is currently in his junior year at Berklee College of Music, where his major is focused on professional music/performance. His style is in the process of being molded with ambitions of impacting the jazz community at large.
“I never even thought about whether or not they understand what I'm doing…The emotional reaction is all that matters as long as there’s some feeling of communication, it isn’t necessary that it be understood.†– John Coltrane (1926 – 1967)
