Isaiah Sharkey

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JAZZ@theEDGE! Featuring Isaiah Sharkey

From playing Chicago’s jazz clubs in his teens to winning a GRAMMY before he was 30, Sharkey is one of the most interesting and exciting guitar talents today. After honing his chops as a session guitarist for some of the most legendary names in music, including D’Angelo (with whom he won the 2015 GRAMMY for Best R&B album Black Messiah), John Mayer, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men, Raphael Saadiq, and Keith Urban, Sharkey has created a name for himself as a solo artist. His highly anticipated debut album, Love.Life.Live, was released in September 2017 and earned him the iHeart Radio Artist of the Month award for his single, “It’s A Shame,” featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff. His sophomore album, “Love is the Key: The Cancerian Theme” was released in June 2019 to critical acclaim. Most recently, Isaiah collaborated with Common on the rapper’s last 2 albums (A Beautiful Revolution Part 1 and Part 2), touring as part of Common’s band and creating music with him for film and TV projects.

The accolades from his colleagues are endless; his fanbase is widespread and dedicated. OSCAR winning rapper Common and his team started an artist collective called Stardust Kidz to showcase some of Common’s favorite artists, Sharkey being the first of the project. Singer-songwriter Brian McKnight said of Sharkey, “He sings, he plays, he writes. He’s one of the most talented musicians.”

Still, you won’t find him on national magazine covers or “best of” lists – at least not yet – and he’s fine with that.

“I never chased being a celebrity guitarist, because I’m too busy liking what I do,” he says.

“It’s not about being in the limelight. If it comes, it comes, but I want to be whatever I need to be to contribute to music. That’s more important. If someone says, ‘Hey, man, there’s this guy around the corner that plays guitar, and I learned from him and he helped me along the way,’ I’m cool with that. If someone is impressed with my playing, that’s great, but my job is to affect people and love what I do.”

Isaiah Sharkey takes center stage as he fuses together his background in rock, gospel, jazz, R&B, blues, and funk to create an original sound with an unmistakable dose of soul.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

BLACK CAT JAZZ & SUPPER CLUB, 400 Eddy Street, San Francisco, United States