John Sheridan

by Steve LeggettStride and swing pianist John Sheridan was born in 1946 in Columbus, OH. He caught the jazz bug early, at the age of eight, when he first heard a recording of Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. By the time he was 13 he was already working professional piano gigs. Sheridan attended Capital University in Columbus following high school, earning a bachelor's degree in piano, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1968 and served with the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C., until his discharge in 1972. Sheridan enrolled in North Texas State University and graduated in 1977 with a master's in music. He joined Jim Cullum's Jazz Band in 1979 and remained with the group until 2002, when he left to freelance on his own. Over the years Sheridan has worked with Scott Hamilton, Wycliffe Gordon, Jake Hanna, Ralph Sutton, Yank Lawson, Dick Hyman, and many others. Among his many recordings (all on Arbors Records, owned and run by Rachel and Mat Domber) are Something Tells Me (1997), Dream Band, Make Me Dream Some More (1999), They Can't Take That Away from Me (1999), Get Rhythm in Your Feet (2002), Artistry 3 (2004), and Easy as It Gets (2005).