Jazz guitarist Scott Sherwood has been praised by critics and peers alike for the effortless fluidity, warmth and expressiveness of his sound. An innately melodic musician, his approach to guitar and composition has a purity and lyricism that is deceptively complex. His playing is rich and subtle, marked by genuine feeling. Sherwood lists responsiveness, empathy and communication as key elements to his musical collaborations as is evident in his new Art of Life Records release with pianist Bob Rodriguez, Ripples.

Sherwood was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but did not begin to study guitar seriously until his sophomore year of high school. Sherwood was drawn to the guitar in his early teens. And even more importantly, he became fascinated with jazz and improvisation through his father’s record collection. When his family moved to San Antonio, Texas, Sherwood decided to try out for his new high school’s jazz band, despite the fact that he was self-taught. He was quickly accepted into the program and, recognizing a true natural talent, his band director set him up with local jazz guitarist Johnny Frisco for lessons.

Sherwood quickly captured attention for his performances. While in high school, he received the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for three consecutive years and was voted IAJE Overall Outstanding Musician at the University of Texas at Arlington Jazz Festival, Kingsville Jazz Festival and Fiesta Stage Band Festival. He went on to attend the University of Texas at Arlington under two scholarships: the Michael Lorimer Guitar Scholarship and the Jazz Studies Scholarship.

Returning to Milwaukee to begin his professional career, Sherwood played with the band Kinetic Shower, which during his tenure was nominated by the Wisconsin Music Industry (WAMI) for Jazz artists of the year. He was an active player in the area gigging most nights and playing with the areas best musicians including guitarist Jack Grassel, drummer Terry Smirl (the drummer on his first album) and trombonist/composer Bill Schaefgen.

In 1990, he returned to Texas to further his education at the University of Texas at Austin. While there he earned a Downbeat Magazine Award for Outstanding Performance at the college level. After gigging around Austin, playing festivals such as South by Southwest as well as concerts and clinics in the United States, Costa Rica and Scotland and recording his first album Siren Song, he decided to make the move to the East Coast. Sherwood landed in Philadelphia where he struck up an ongoing friendship with one of Philadelphia’s jazz guitar icons, Steve Giordano.

Sherwood finally made the move to New York City in 1998. He had two recordings under his belt and had been studying with guitarist John Abercrombie. He began playing with different area musicians and in 2004 met pianist Bob Rodriguez. Things took a dark turn in 2005 when Sherwood was diagnosed with Stage II Lymphoma. He endured an aggressive course of chemotherapy which was successful. Today he is healthy and back on the scene. He is working on a number of different projects and is also a faculty member of Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan. Ripples is his first recording project since his illness.

The Scott Sherwood Trio's two previous releases, Siren Song and Peaks and Valleys, are both available as Digital Downloads from Art of Life Records MP3 Digital Download Store.