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#71- SHERYL BAILEY 
 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.
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