Damon Poppleton is an award-winning jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader from Sydney, Australia, based in New York City.

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.  

He is currently attending the Manhattan School of Music on scholarship for his Master of Music in Jazz Alto Saxophone, studying with saxophonist Nicole Glover. He earned his Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Sean Coffin, Will Vinson, Kevin Hunt and Craig Scott.

He is the winner of the 2019 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship and was recently the runner-up in the 2026 Jacob Neale Jazz Awards for saxophone. Since 2024 he has been a member of the Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, working with guest artists Remy Le Boeuf, Gordon Goodwin, Bert Joris and Florian Ross. From 2025-26 he held the lead saxophone chair in this national ensemble.

In 2019, he started his own quartet and released two albums with the group, “Check” (2019) and “Substation Lookout” (2024). In early 2026, he debuted the “Damon Poppleton Orchestra”, performing his original compositions and arrangements for big band. In Sydney, Damon has been a side person in various professional ensembles including the Dan Barnett Big Band, John Morrison’s Swing City, Chiara Minotto’s “New Dynamic Orchestra”, Symphonette, Andrew Dickeson’s “The Future Today”, Jason Bruer’s “Hammerhead” and Steve Fitzmaurice’s "Mingus Amongst Us”.

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!"