a little about sheri…
Sheri’s musical path began at an early age, singing nightly with her father, a multi- instrumentalist who introduced her to the music of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and the song stylists of the sixties. “My roots in music really started with my Dad. He instilled in me his passion for it at such a young age, my very earliest memories are of him playing. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t singing. It was a relationship and a passion that would solidify my journey through life. I wanted nothing else but music.”
Sheri’s formal training began with piano lessons at age eight. She quickly progressed and by fifteen was working on her ARCT through the Royal Conservatory of Music with the dream of becoming a classical pianist. However, life would take a turn as she battled a major health issue that would ultimately end that dream. “I was born with a rare congenital syndrome that affected my spine. As I grew, I began to experience intermittent paralysis and severe pain in my wrists and hands, which was pretty tricky to deal with while trying to get through my piano exams. Ultimately, I had surgery to correct the issue, however I felt that I never regained my reflexes to the degree needed and eventually I stopped playing altogether.”
As they say, when one door closes, another opens. “Fortunately I never gave up on music itself. Besides piano, I had also played other instruments, predominately flute and of course, I kept singing. The more I battled stage fright and got out and performed, the more encouragement I received and I finally realized I should be doing what was always my first love, what was a natural gift and what I have always done best……..sing!”
Whether performing in jazz clubs, theatre, choirs, churches or even a stint with an opera company, Sheri has delighted audiences with her broad vocal abilities. “Even though jazz is my favourite to sing I also love to sing other styles of music as well and I try to stay true to each genre. I also have a fondness for singing in several other languages. I find that not singing in my native tongue, basically clears the way for me to concentrate more on the music….the timbre, tone, pitch and the emotion of the piece…..these are most important to me.”
Sheri’s admiration for Bebop and for vocalists like Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day, and Sarah Vaughan can be heard in her latest album ‘Shorty &The Giants’. Sheri’s ability to reach back through the nostalgic pages of the American Songbook and sing with such authenticity and sensitivity, is demonstrated in her first album released in 2009 ‘Sheri Weldon-The Music and The Muse’.
What’s next for Sheri? “Who knows? I keep singing! Certainly as the years pass, more and more I feel the urgency to finally put pen to paper and compose my own music. There’s always been a lot of it rattling around my brain and my heart and it’s constantly knocking to get out! So…..soon, I hope.”
Sheri has performed and recorded with some of the finest jazz musicians in Canada including, Mark Eisenman, Kieran Overs, Nancy Walker, Stacie McGregor, Dan Ionescu, Pat Collins, Daniel Barnes, John MacMurchy, Peter Telford, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, Bruce Cassidy and Bernie Senensky.