Sherry’s performances are an exploration of the great song writers and story tellers of the past and present. Her clear tone and improvisatory vocal approach create fresh and nuanced musical experiences. Her debut album You Can Have Him was released in 2011 on Teal Creek Records. She is also the featured vocalist on Brazilian composer and pianist, Cassio Vianna’s 2013 record Letters to Grace: A Song Cycle.
Sherry performs regularly in the Portland area, sharing the bandstand with Mel Brown, George Colligan, Christopher Woitach, Keller Coker, Dan Balmer, and many more. As a founding member of the American Metropole Orchestra, she arranged for and performed with the likes of Allen Toussaint, Lizz Wright, Martha Reeves, Jose James, Kurt Elling, Dave Frishberg, and Lynn Anderson. At the University of Northern Colorado, she shared the stage with the New York Voices and Aubrey Logan as a member of the Downbeat Award-winning vocal ensemble Vocal Lab, under the direction of Kerry Marsh. In 2018, she was a backup singer for Sara Bareilles at the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Sherry Alves is the Instructor of Jazz Voice at Portland State University where she teaches applied jazz voice, improvisation, jazz pedagogy, jazz vocal ensembles and combos, and special topics in music history. She has served on faculty of Western Oregon University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Portland Community College Rock Creek. Ms. Alves is pursuing a Doctor of Arts in Music with a Jazz Studies emphasis from the University of Northern Colorado. Her areas of emphasis include Vocal Jazz Pedagogy and Performance, with a secondary emphasis in Jazz Arranging. She holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from Western Oregon University.
Ms. Alves is an active adjudicator and masterclass teacher. She has taught on the faculty of summer music camps including the Mel Brown Summer Jazz Workshop and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts P.L.A.Y. Music Camp. She has presented papers at the 2019 College Music Society Northwest Regional Conference and the 2018 College Music Society National Conference.
She is a member of College Music Society and the Jazz Education Network.