Isaiah Sharkey

Born in Chicago in 1989, Isaiah Sharkey was trained very early in a family environment marked by gospel, blues, jazz, funk and soul, before playing as a teenager in the city’s clubs, notably around the Velvet Lounge scene. Guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, Isaiah Sharkey develops a language that links jazz, R&B, gospel and soul, with a guitar playing that is flexible, highly vocal, anchored in groove as much as in improvisation. After a first family album, Skyliner, in 2005, he begins his professional career touring with Smokie Norful, then works with Donald Lawrence and Ronald Isley. His path takes another dimension when he joins D’Angelo’s entourage and participates in Black Messiah in 2014, within a circle of musicians including Pino Palladino, Questlove, Chris Dave and Roy Hargrove. Subsequently, Isaiah Sharkey establishes himself as a sideman and session musician for artists from R&B, pop, gospel and jazz, among them John Mayer, Patti LaBelle, Paul Simon, Corinne Bailey Rae, Common, Robert Glasper or Cory Henry. In parallel, Isaiah Sharkey pursues personal projects with Love.Life.Live in 2017 and then Love Is the Key (The Cancerian Theme) in 2019, where he places more emphasis on his voice and on writing situated between contemporary soul, fusion and gospel spirituality.