November, 2008
Art Sherrod, Jr.
http://www.myspace.com/artsherrodjr
Born and raised in Texas, Art began his musical journey at the age of 5 singing in the church choir; although his exposure actually began in the womb with his mother singing in the church choir and playing the organ. At the age of 13, Art joined the junior high school band and started playing the saxophone. By the time he graduated from high school he had received numerous awards and had been recognized as an All-Area, All Region and All-State Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophonist. He was also chosen as an alternate to the McDonalds All-American Band. Some of Art’s early inspirations were Cannonball Adderley, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Kim Waters and David Sanborn just to name a few.
In 1996, after four years of college, Art decided to once again focus on music. He spent a lot of time performing with local bands and playing in churches. In 2003, Art decided to step out on his faith and pursue a career as a solo artist. As a solo artist, Art has perform with and/or co-headlined shows with Natalie Cole, Angie Stone, Will Downing, Phil Perry, Chuck Loeb, Marion Meadows, Roy Ayres, Everette Harp, Najee, Bob Baldwin, Randy Scott, Noel Webb, Michael Henderson, Jean Carne, Cuba Gooding & the Main Ingredient, and a host of others. He has also had the privledge of performing on the Brazilian-American Jazz Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Capital Jazz Festival, Verizon Music Festival, Beantown Jazz Festival, the Volvo Jazz Festival and several others.
Art is very active in the community by working with churches and several charitable organizations such as Progressive Horizons, which is an organization that works with foster children and mentally and physically challenged individuals. Art says “I want to give while I can. I don’t want to experience a tragedy before I decide to do my part”.
Art released his debut studio project titled “All 4 Love” in January of 2005, which followed his live CD and DVD project titled “Art Sherrod Jr Live”. Art is currently working on his sophomore project titled “Seasons” which is due to release in February 2008. The album will feature performances by Chuck Loeb, Gerald Albright, Frank McCone, Alex Al, Marcus Johnson and many others. This album is definitely going to make a positive statement on the jazz scene.
