In 1996, she left her sweet home Chicago and moved to Seattle. She now gets to sing all the tunes made popular by her screen idols at concerts, nightclubs and special events throughout the Puget Sound. Some of her favorite past gigs include The Fourth of Jul-Ivars, The Pacific Place Holiday Concert Series, The Skagit Valley Casino and the Seattle Art Museum’s 75th Anniversary Gala. She has also enjoyed bringing her act to NYC, Vancouver BC and Los Angeles.
Cheryl calls her unique blend of vintage jazz, pop and cabaret Rat Pack Jazz— music reminiscent of the Vegas showroom heydays of the 1950s – early 1960s when crooners and chanteuses sang swingin’ tunes, drank martinis and laughed into the wee hours of the morning. Gene Stout, Pop Music Critic of the Seattle Post Intelligencer, describes her music as “Well executed classics which she performs beautifully.” Her music places her in the ranks of contemporary artists putting their own unique spin on classic American standards such as Madeleine Peyroux, Michael Buble and Diana Krall.
Her brand of Rat Pack Jazz can be heard on her two CD releases. Her 2000 debut recording, Dames let her strut her vocal stuff over a colorful variety of styles. Dames includes the bass trombone stomp of Shaking the Blues Away, the breezy bongo swing of The Good Life and her very own interpretation of Lady Is a Tramp.
Her current release, It Had Better Be Tonight, tears down the wall that separates pop and jazz. The disc swings into action with the six-horn urban soundscape blast of Big City. The vocal vixen divulges her post-apocalyptic fantasy in the outrageous, bongo-driven 13 Men. And Cheryl shows she has the bravura equal to any crooner on the eight cylinder big-band rave-up Please Don’t Talk about Me When I’m Gone.
Cabaret is another facet of her versatile career. Cheryl has performed in several original cabaret productions and is a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Cabaret Association. Some of her themed Cabaret shows include Dames! - A Salute to the Sexy, Sassy Dames in Film, Risque Bizness - the hilarious look at the suggestive side of music, Freakshow! and K-TEL Cabaret – the 70s hit explosion.
Drawing upon her improv comedy skills, she produces comedy Murder Mysteries for Lucky Lady Interactive Events. This popular form of entertainment has you piece together clues and attempt to solve a murderous crime by interacting with characters. Stop by Capone’s Place or pay a visit to Mystery Mansion and unravel the crime.
Cheryl is avid scuba diver and is a PADI Certified Dive Master. Her favorite cocktail is a Manhattan. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of The Brady Bunch, loves The Beatles, The History Channel and is a vegetarian.
