Shenole began playing the alto saxophone in the 4th grade with his elementary school band.  Though his family was "economically challenged", as Shenole fondly puts it, and could not afford to give him private lessons, he quickly surpassed the older and more experienced players to become the section leader.  This is also when he had his first experiences with performing jazz.


Latimer participated in jazz ensembles throughout the rest of his public school experience and became famous in his school district and beyond for his big grin, loud foot stomping during rehearsals and school concerts, and for his sax playing.  In recognition of his hard work and talent, he was bestowed the Louis Armstrong Award for Jazz Improvisation, which was passed on to only the top young jazz performers across the country.


Shenole went on to attend the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where a chance encounter with the esteemed jazz bassist Todd Coolman, who was the university's Director of Jazz Studies at the time, would result in Latimer becoming a member of the Stony Brook University Jazz Big Band.

His fondness for jazz rekindled, Shenole worked hard under the tutelage of Coolman and would ultimately become not only the lead alto saxophonist for the big band, but also the face and ambassador of Stony Brook University's jazz program.

It was during this time that Shenole Latimer decided to pursue music professionally and within just one year of his entering the scene, he had gained an endorsement from the woodwind instrument accessory giant known as Vandoren and had handily won the 1999 Best Horn Player Award, which was a prestigious reader's poll from the now defunct Long Island Voice.  These initial accomplishments helped to fuel Latimer's ambition of becoming a respected headliner on the big stage.

In 2004 Shenole's ambition would become a reality when a member of the board for the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, a prestigious Long Island concert hall, caught wind that Shenole was drawing large numbers of people to his local performances.

The board member decided to pay Latimer a surprise visit during one of his performances.  The result of their impromptu meeting was Shenole Latimer's September 9th, 2004 performance on the main stage of the 1,164 seat Patchogue Theatre. 

Though not a sell out, Shenole's concert far exceeded his critics' expectations for ticket sales, and even ended up outselling a Chuck Mangione concert that took place at the Patchogue Theatre 2 weeks later.

Using the lessons that he learned from his first headlining performance,  Shenole formed his artist management and booking company Rici Music, Inc. and by 2006 he had self produced several very successful concerts for his quartet in small to medium sized concert halls that he rented using both his own money and the money of corporate sponsors like Coldwell Banker and Washington Mutual. He was also starting to become recognized as one of the dominant and exciting new voices in the jazz scene.  However, something was missing... 

...Shenole had never recorded his own album, even thought he had recorded albums as a sideman for other artists.  He decided to dive head first into the creation of his debut recording as a bandleader. 

Shenole Latimer's 2006 debut CD, appropriately entitled "Front and Center", was released by the Dortmund, Germany record label Tierra Records, and continues to enjoy impressive sales both domestically and internationally.

Shenole Latimer now performs in venues through out the east coast of the United States.  He continues to be a highly sought after lecturer and clinician, and enjoys several sideman projects from artists who thrive in the jazz, blues, neo-soul, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary rock, and pop music scenes. 

Because of Shenole's almost insatiable desire to excel, and his relative youth, its clear that his greatest achievements are still ahead of him. Moreover, Shenole Latimer's charisma, uncanny ability to connect with his audiences, and firery performances serve as the intoxicant that will continue to compel jazz aficionados and music lovers alike to follow his career for years to come.

 

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