Sheryl Bailey
Encyclopedia
Sheryl Bailey is an American jazz
guitar
ist and educator based in New York City
. She has released six albums.
as part of a musical family. She started playing the guitar at 13. At first she was primarily interested in rock music
and after a few years she heard Wes Montgomery
play on the radio and discovered jazz. She attended Berklee College of Music
in Boston
, where she helped to found the college's first LGBT
student group. After college, she taught music in Baltimore
before moving to New York City
in 1988 to further her career as a performer. She released her first album, Little Misunderstood in 1995. It featured musicians George Colligan
, Vince Loving, and Chris Battistone.
In 2001, Bailey released Reunion of Souls with guitarist Chris Bergson, featuring Ashley Turner
and Sunny Jain
. Stewart Mason of Allmusic called one of the tracks "charming" and one "perfectly sweet" but said that the album was "nothing groundbreaking". This was followed by The Power of 3! in 2002 which contained eight tracks all written by Bailey. Allmusic's Rick Anderson said that each track was "a gem" and "more complex than you'd guess at first listen". Overall he said the album was "highly recommended". Her next album was 2004's Bull's Eye. In 2006, Bailey released her fifth album Live @ the Fat Cat and was a headline act at the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival. Her sixth album, A New Promise, was released by MCG Jazz February 2, 2010. She also teaches at Berklee, and at Stanford University
's summer workshops.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and educator based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She has released six albums.
Biography
Bailey grew up in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
as part of a musical family. She started playing the guitar at 13. At first she was primarily interested in rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and after a few years she heard Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
play on the radio and discovered jazz. She attended Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where she helped to found the college's first LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
student group. After college, she taught music in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1988 to further her career as a performer. She released her first album, Little Misunderstood in 1995. It featured musicians George Colligan
George Colligan
George Colligan is a New York-based jazz pianist, organist, drummer, trumpet player, educator, composer and bandleader. He was born in New Jersey, and raised in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the Peabody Institute, majoring in classical trumpet and music education...
, Vince Loving, and Chris Battistone.
In 2001, Bailey released Reunion of Souls with guitarist Chris Bergson, featuring Ashley Turner
Ashley Turner
Ashley Turner is an American singer-songwriter and pianist.- Influences and musical style :Ashley’s musical influences include The Beatles, Queen, Danny Elfman, and Tori Amos...
and Sunny Jain
Sunny Jain
Voted as a rising star percussionist in the 2011 Downbeat magazine critics poll, Sunny Jain is a highly respected drummer, player and composer. He leads the pioneering 9-piece Brooklyn Funk party band, Red Baraat, and his Sunny Jain Collective has been touted as a lead voice for the burgeoning...
. Stewart Mason of Allmusic called one of the tracks "charming" and one "perfectly sweet" but said that the album was "nothing groundbreaking". This was followed by The Power of 3! in 2002 which contained eight tracks all written by Bailey. Allmusic's Rick Anderson said that each track was "a gem" and "more complex than you'd guess at first listen". Overall he said the album was "highly recommended". Her next album was 2004's Bull's Eye. In 2006, Bailey released her fifth album Live @ the Fat Cat and was a headline act at the Pittsburgh Jazz Festival. Her sixth album, A New Promise, was released by MCG Jazz February 2, 2010. She also teaches at Berklee, and at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's summer workshops.
Discography
- Little Misunderstood (1995)
- Reunion of Souls (2001)
- The Power of 3! (2002)
- Bull's Eye (2004)
- Live @ the Fat Cat (2006)
- A New Promise (2010)