| Ed CherryGuitarist Ed Cherry possesses a firm knowledge of all of the hues and grooves of African-American music. You can hear his command of the idiom in his warm, singing guitar lines. For the last three decades, The New York-based musician has performed and recorded with the most acclaimed musicians in jazz and blues, including Dizzy Gillespie, Henry Threadgill, Kenny Burrell, Ruth Brown, Steve Coleman, Paquito DRivera, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, James Moody, David Murray, Claudio Roditi, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan and Roy Hargrove, He has also been an exceptional bandleader in his own right.
"My concept of the guitar is derived from the blues," he says. "I always enjoyed to blues players like Muddy Waters, Albert King and B.B. King, who I saw when I was 16 years old. That stayed with me throughout my evolution as a player. I also enjoyed the jazz players who had that blues-based thing in their playing- I loved Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green. I enjoyed the look to the future too, with other guitarist like Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Sharrock, John McLaughlin --forward thinking players. So I try to mix the two approaches and keep the blues and the church in my playing as much as possible,"
Born on October 12, 1954 in New Haven, Connecticut, Cherry started playing the guitar when he was 12 years old. "I grew up listening jazz and pop music. I came up in the era of Motown and the Beatles," Cherry relates. "As a kid I was fascinated with the look and the sound of the guitar. My dad was a jazz fan and I remember him playing Grant Green records in the house. That caught my ear, along with listening to Bud Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. So the music caught my ear at an early age, although I didn't seriously start listening to jazz until I was 18, 19 or 20 years old.
Cherry graduated from Amity High School in Woodbridge, CT in 1972 and entered Berklee School of Music in Boston the next year. Ibis first major road gig was with the 5 Satins from 1973 to 1975, and we also worked with organ master Jimmy McGriff. In 1976, Cherry studied with guitarist Bruce Johnson and attended Jazzmobile with guitar legend Ted Dunbar. Two years later, Cherry moved to New York. From 1978 to 1992, he played with Dizzy Gillespie. Cherry accompanied Gillespie on a State Department tour of West Africa with the trumpeter in 1987, and appeared on television with him. Cherry performed in Gillespie's quartet, big band and with The United Nation Orchestra, which recorded the Grammy Award-winning Live at Royal Festival Hall (Enja). "I learned so much from being in Dizzy's band," Cherry cheerfully recalls- "I learned how he dealt with Cans, friends, picking band members and how he dealt with the audience. It was like the University of DG - Dizzy Gillespie,"
Gillespie died in 1993, and Cherry released his first recording as a leader, First Take (Groovin' High) that same year. Cherry also worked with composer/saxophonist Henry Threadgill for two years. "From Henry I learned the importance of rehearsal. It was difficult music, and it needed the rehearsal- He made: me realize the importance of having your music together and of finding the right combination of musicians to make a sound."
In 1995, Cherry released his second project as a solo artist, entitled A Second Look (Groovin' High). From 1997 to 1998, Cherry worked in Roy Hargrove's "Crisol" Latin jazz band, which performed Havana, Cuba. In 2001, Cherry toured Europe for the first time with own group. He also released his latest CD, The Spirit Speaks on the Canadian Justin Time label. Inspired by organist Jimmy Smith, whom be worked with, and by the sound of the organ trio, The Spirit Speaks features alto saxophonist Joe Ford, drummer Nasheet Waits and organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, who Cherry gigged with in the late '70s. "I always enjoyed playing with the organ," Cherry says. "One of my first experiences with jazz in my hometown was with Bobby and Eddie Buster. They were great organists, and that sound always stayed with me."
In addition to his stellar work as a sideman and as a critically acclaimed leader, Ed Cherry also has impressive credentials as a music educator. He taught guitar at Essex Community College in Newark, NJ from 1995 to 1996, and at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City from 1996 to 1997. He was also a faculty member at Montclair State University, School of Fine and Performing Arts for J.O.Y. (Jazz Opportunity for Youth). "I ask the students to listen to the masters. I get them in touch with the basic tools of the instrument," he says- "There are so many guitarists who play by ear, but when you ask them, to play a C scale, or a simple melody, they have trouble- So I take them right to square one with the basics, and I enjoy watching them grow."
As a guitarist, sideman, solo artist and educator, the spirit of jazz speaks through Ed Cherry's marvelous musicianship. | Discography
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