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Jake Sherman is an American singer-songwriter and producer. He has released five solo albums: The eponymous Jake Sherman (2012), Jake Sherman Returns (2016), Jake Sherman Gets Sexy (2020), along with You're a Dream (2020), and What a Wonderful World (2023).[1]
As a sideman, he has performed with Bilal,[2] Meshell Ndegeocello, Nick Hakim,[3] Blood Orange, Doobie Powell, Andrew Bird, Benny Sings, Emily King, Gabriel Garzon-Montano, Ralph Peterson Unity Project, Warren Wolf, and David Fiuczynski, among others.
Jake Sherman was raised in Boston, where he interacted regularly with the musical cultures of Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Wally's Café Jazz Club, all of which he cites as influences on his work. Sherman began playing piano at the age of four and initially played Scott Joplin rags[2] before becoming heavily influenced in jazz by Jimmy Smith and Herbie Hancock.
As a teenager, he played at Wally's Cafe in Boston on the weekends. In addition, Sherman's parents both played instruments, with his mother playing the flute, and his father playing the harpsicord. Sherman, growing up had very little "exposure to pop culture," with the initial genres he listened to being ragtime, gospel and jazz. Originally, Sherman regarded these genres and the pop music on the radio as "Two separate worlds," though eventually the fusion of these two sounds became what he now considers his music to be.[4]
Stylistically, Sherman cites the artists at Berklee, the New England Conservatory, and Wally's Café as influences. As a lyricist, Sherman claims to take inspiration from "Real life situations." He has cited the album Astro Lounge by Smash Mouth as one of the "biggest influence[s]" on his work.[4]