Arlington Jazz Festival – Day 5:
​Jon Wheatley & Sheryl Bailey Duo
11:00AM, Sunday, April 12
Tryst Restaurant, 689 Massachusetts Ave.
no cover charge

Jonathan Wheatley, from Syracuse, later Cambridge
MA, studied at Berklee College of Music where he is
now associate professor. While touring the UK with legendary cornetist Ruby Braff, Jon recorded Wheatley and His Famous Associates: Guitar on the Loose in London. With fellow Americans, Jon led/recorded The 50/50 Quintet accompanied Ruby Braff on four releases and is heard on CD’s with Bucky Pizzarelli, Dick Johnson, Herb Pomeroy, George Masso, Daryl Sherman, Gordon Brisker, Donna Byrne, Toots Thielmans. His work has been praised by journalists Steve Futterman, Bob Blumenthal, Alun Morgan and Dan Morgenstern. An active educator, Jon’s recent publications include Getting Creative With Standard Tunes (Mike’s Master Classes online) and Jazz Swing Guitar (Hal Leonard).

There’s no description more apt for Sheryl Bailey than “A sizzling guitar goddess”, coined by Elliot Simon of All About Jazz.  He’s not alone with his superlatives—Adam Levy of Guitar Player Magazine calls Sheryl “One of the most compelling tones of her generation”, and Frank Forte of Just Jazz Guitar ranks her “among the best bop guitar players with a fresh approach and something new.”
Sheryl’s playing is unquestionably “sizzling”.  She has groomed incredible chops and impeccable taste with which she applies them.  It’s said (by Lee Metcalf, The Villager) that she can “go from zero to blazing in two beats”, but she is continually praised for never sacrificing melody and lyricism for technique.  “She balances superior technical skills with a strong lyrical sense and swinging touch…” continues Metcalf, and Joe Taylor of Soundstage says “Bailey combines an astonishing command of the fingerboard with a seemingly endless flow of melodic invention.” Sheryl is a Professor at Berklee College of Music, and is the Assistant Chair of Guitar there: an institution recognized as the largest and most stylistically diverse guitar program on in the world.

back to the 2026 Festival Schedule