FROM NEW YORK, JAZZ GUITARIST SHERYL BAILEY
W/MARK FERBER, JOE BAGG AND MATT OTTO
Guitarist Sheryl Bailey is rated among the foremost bopbased guitarists
to have emerged in the 1990’s. Her attack can be direct and hard swinging,
but she also exudes subtlety, elegance of phrase and a pure, warm, liquid
sound. Bill Milkowski has written about her: “ a modernist burner with an
abundance of Pat Martino-style chops, Bailey prefers angular lines, odd
harmonies and the occasional touch of dissonance as she sails up and down
the fretboard with fluid abandon.” JazzTimes Magazine, Februrary 2005
Her musical activities aren’t confined to groups working strictly in the
orthodox, bop based jazz tradition, as she has toured and recorded with
bassist, Richard Bona and is a member of David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness.
Other artists are tenor saxophonist, Gary Thomas, Urban Folk and Jazz
artist, KJ Denhert, and pop diva, Irene Cara. While her mid 1990’s CD Little
Misunderstood sees her playing with total familiarity and command of the
fusion idiom, her latest releases, Reunion of Souls, The Power of Three, and
Bull’s Eye represent her love of contemporary straight-ahead jazz.
In 1995 Sheryl was awarded third place in the Thelonious Monk
International Jazz Guitar Competition, and has toured South America on
behalf of the US State Department as a Jazz Ambassador, honoring the music
of Duke Ellington. She currently leads her own trio, The Sheryl Bailey Three
(Gary Versace on Hammond B3 and Ian Froman on drums). Her 2002 release, The
Power of Three was critically acclaimed and charted in the top 20 of the
Jazz Week radio charts. The trio conjures the essence of the Grant Green/
Larry Young/ Elvin Jones band of the late 60’s.
She is also in demand as an educator. Sheryl has been an Assistant
Professor of Guitar at the esteemed Berklee College of Music since 2000, and
has been a popular clinician at the National Guitar Summer workshop, The
Stanford Jazz Workshop, The Duquesne Jazz Guitar Seminar, Uarts in
Philadelphia, and at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia.
Sheryl’s latest release is titled, Bull’s Eye. The CD features nine new
compositions and tightly woven improvisations from the trio. A track from
the disc, “ Old and Young Blues” will be featured in the Master Anthology of
Jazz solos, vol. IV by Mel Bay in January 2005. She is also working on a
book for Mel Bay about modern approaches to jazz improvisation. She keeps a
hectic itinerary touring, teaching, and recording.
