Sally Terrell

“This teacher might have come to this realm a little late down the path, but she must have had the music in her heart the whole time. With smart jazzbo instincts and a forward-thinking vision, she is a thrush for our times. Not traditional and not cutting edge, she occupies her own space nicely and has the skills to pay the bills.”

— Chris Spector, Midwest Record

New Album
Available Now

About

Sally Terrell’s professional singing career may be a “second act” following thirty years as an English professor, but music has always been her first passion. A native of Youngstown, New York, she began playing piano and singing at age six, poking out melodies alongside her father, a classically trained pianist and jazz aficionado who passed along his love for music while discovering his youngest daughter could play and sing by ear. Terrell’s interest and skill flourished in her public school music program, but she would put her musical ambitions aside while building a successful college teaching career in Connecticut. Terrell began singing professionally when she and her husband formed the Green Jazz Band in 2010.

Her first solo album, Just in Time (2019), features fresh takes on jazz standards and an original song, Blue Piano, written in tribute to her father. In March of 2020, a week after the pandemic lockdown began, she started writing songs at the piano as a way to cope with the dizzying events of that tumultuous spring while thinking about their profound impact on the musicians she’s worked with. She contacted her musical director and arranger, John di Martino, that very same week and told him she wanted to record a new album, despite having only a few unfinished originals and jazz standards in mind. While she didn’t know how the recording would take shape, she knew she needed to make music to somehow speak into the void, to affirm life when death seemed to be all around, when asking what it meant to “feel alive” became a fresh, necessary question for all of us. Her second release, Feel Alive (2022), “artfully captures the zeitgeist of the pandemic era with a collection of emotional, socially conscious originals and fresh interpretations of standards that uniquely fit our cultural moment.” Both projects highlight a fruitful collaboration with producer and renowned jazz pianist John diMartino, who says of her work, “Sally brings a beautiful energy to these songs, breathing new life into them.” Terrell’s intuitive interpretations and razor-sharp ear showcase a velvety alto and a gift for sharing the timeless stories of jazz while boldly exploring her range across musical genres.

Shows

I’m thrilled to return to the Palace Theater Poli Club in Waterbury, CT on Friday, November 4 to perform songs from my new album, Feel Alive. Two shows: 7 and 9 pm. Hope to see you there!

Music

All singles & albums are available on the following streaming platforms.

Feel Alive
Choose
Out in the Blue
Blue Skies
You Don't Know Me

SALLY TERRELL - Feel Alive

$20.00 (CD or Digital)

John di Martino piano, organ, keyboards
Reggie Bowens choral arrangements, vocals (1, 3, 7)
Christie Dashiell, Mariah Kamau, Danielle Withers, vocals (1, 3, 7)
Giacomo Gates appears courtesy of Savant Records (5)
Aaron Heick soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet, alto flute, English horn
Tim Ouimette trumpet, flugelhorn
Wesley Amorim electric and acoustic guitar
Lonnie Plaxico electric and acoustic bass
Vince Cherico drums
Samuel Torres percussion

Sally Terrell - Just in Time

$20.00 (CD or Digital)

John di Martino piano
Luques Curtis bass
Vince Cherico drums
Samuel Torres percussion
Aaron Heick sax and flute
Warren Vache trumpet and flugel horn
Paul Meyers acoustic guitar

PRESS

This teacher might have come to this realm a little late down the path, but she must have had the music in her heart the whole time. With smart jazzbo instincts and a forward-thinking vision, she is a thrush for our times. Not traditional and not cutting edge, she occupies her own space nicely and has the skills to pay the bills.

Chris Spector, Midwest Record
5/5
With a seasoned group behind her, and singing lived in lyrics, Sally Terrell’s first release, Just In Time, doesn’t sound like a first outing. It could have been called About Time.
Giacomo Gates
5/5

“Feel Alive artfully captures the zeitgeist of the pandemic era with a collection of emotional, socially conscious originals and fresh interpretations of standards that uniquely fit our cultural moment.”

Sally brings a beautiful energy to these songs, breathing new life into them…
Jonathan Widran
5/5

VIDEOS & PHOTOS

Booking

Submit the following form or email Sally at [email protected]