Damon Poppleton is a jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader based in Sydney, Australia.

Starting as a drummer at age 5 and switching to the saxophone at 10, his love for jazz and the art of improvisation was sparked upon his first experience of playing lead alto with a big band at age 11, performing the melody to “Symphony In Riffs” by Benny Carter.  

Since then, Damon has gone on to win the 2019 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship, and currently studies jazz performance at the Sydney Conservatorium. In early 2023, he was awarded the Barry Stewart Prize for Most Outstanding Jazz Student. Most recently, he has successfully auditioned for the 2024 edition of the Australian National Youth Jazz Orchestra, which will be performing the material of Grammy-nominated guest artist, saxophonist/composer Remy Le Boeuf at the Sydney Conservatorium International Jazz Festival and the Perth International Jazz Festival.

Damon’s main project is the “Damon Poppleton Quartet”, which has just recorded an album of original music, set for release in 2024. The band showcases his personal connection to the jazz tradition; deeply inspired and informed by the values of swing presented by Count Basie, and drawn to the artistry of current saxophonists like Dick Oatts and Jaleel Shaw. He is continually writing new music, often shaping these compositions around small, humourous snippets of lived experiences. He has his sights set towards having the band tour to regional NSW and other capital cities.

In 2022, one of Damon’s big band compositions “Foster Eyes” was performed by Andrew Robertson’s Big Band across multiple performances at Foundry616 as well as at that year’s Manly Jazz Festival. He also performed and composed music for the October 2023 Sydney Conservatorium sponsored tour of Hanoi, Vietnam led by Dr. Steve Barry, with one of his compositions “Encounter At The Tops” being performed on Vietnamese TV.

James Morrison said about Damon: "Occasionally a musician comes along who plays way beyond their years. We then usually say how good they are for their age...but at only 16 years of age, Damon Poppleton would be called great if he played like that at 50!"