BIO #1

Su Terry (aka "Sweet" Su Terry) has been hailed as a "Superwoman of Jazz" (Hartford Courant), "Simply extraordinary!" (Die Wahrheit, Berlin) and a "forward voice in modern music" (Saxophone Journal).  She's also renowned as a philosopher and author who writes regularly on musical and artistic topics.

INSTRUMENTS: Soprano saxophone, Clarinet, Shakuhachi (Japanese flute), occasional vocals

LINEAGE: Ms. Terry, known as an early protégée of legend Jackie McLean, has performed and recorded with a long list of jazz VIPs, including Charli Persip, Clifford Jordan, Walter Bishop, Jr., Jaki Byard, Dr. Billy Taylor, Clark Terry, Rachel Z, Al Jarreau, Melba Liston, Chaka Khan, George Duke, Barry Harris, Phil Woods, Hilton Ruiz, Irene Reid, Dr. John, Teri Thornton, Mike Longo, Joe Lee Wilson, Howard Johnson, Clarice Assad, Art Blakey, Carmen McRae, Jon Faddis, Lew Tabackin, Lew Soloff, Luiz Simas, Ray Barretto, Michael Jefry Stevens, Tim Price, and Peggy Stern.

PERFORMANCES: International jazz festival appearances include Montreux, Nice, Pori, Northsea, Montreal, Quito, Trave, Ottawa, Seville, Ibiza and more. She has played at clubs throughout North and South America, Europe, and Japan. In the States she's performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, and has toured for the U.S. Dept. of State.

She has performed as jazz soloist with Symphony and Pops orchestras conducted by Marin Alsop, Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, Gene Bozzi, Michael Meissner, Augusto Carrión and Skitch Henderson.

EDUCATION: Su Terry received the Hartt School's first degree ever awarded in jazz performance, and was elected 2001 Alumna of the Year. Passionate about passing on her knowledge to students and colleagues, she conducts frequent masterclasses and workshops . She founded the Cuenca Jazz Academy and is on the faculty of Taller Encuentro in Quito.

BOOKS: She is the author of Practice Like The Pros and three other instructional books distributed by Hal Leonard. She is the author of three non-fiction books including Inside the Mind of a Musician and For The Curious. Her latest book is Music and the 7 Hermetic Principles.  An illustrated short novel is titled I Was a Jazz Musician for the FBI.  

CITATIONS: Reed All About It by Bob Bernotas; Madame Jazz by Leslie Gourse; Experiencing Jazz by Michael Stephans; Have Horn, Will Travel by Courtney Nero; Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD; All Music Guide to Jazz.

RECORDINGS: Su Terry's discography contains over 90 recordings as a both a leader and featured soloist.  They are available at Bandcamp, Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes and other retailers.

ENDORSEMENTS: Su Terry is a Yamaha Artist, a Jody Jazz Artist and a Légère Artist.

OTHER PURSUITS: She is a longtime practitioner of the martial art of Taijiquan and holds nine USKSF championship tournament gold medals.

LINKS: 
Website: https://suterry.com
Music: https://qinote.bandcamp.com
Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Su-Terry/author/B0F1W7SF68
Articles: https://templeofartists.substack.com
 

BIO #2

S U   T E R R Y

SOLOIST ON SOPRANO SAXOPHONE, CLARINET, SHAKUHACHI • COMPOSER • AUTHOR • SPEAKER

Su Terry (aka Sue Terry) began her music studies on the accordion at age five.  She first heard jazz music as a child growing up in Connecticut, where her father had an extensive record collection and she listened to jazz station WRVR FM non-stop. As a teenager studying with legendary pianist and educator John Mehegan, Su mentioned she would like to write a big band arrangement for her high school Jazz Ensemble. Mehegan bet her an ice cream cone that she couldn’t do it. She won. 

By age fifteen she was playing professionally for church performances and musical theater. She began playing jazz gigs while attending the Hartt School music conservatory in Hartford. Though she was enrolled as a classical clarinetist, her secret agenda was to study with the late saxophone legend Jackie McLean, which she did for five years. During her time at Hartt, in addition to performing and teaching she also hosted a weekly Morning Jazz show on WWUH FM.    The Hartt School elected her Alumna of the Year in 2001.

Su has played and recorded with a variety of notable jazz artists including Dr. Billy Taylor, Clark Terry, Clarice Assad, Charli Persip, Clifford Jordan, Melba Liston, Hilton Ruiz, Howard Johnson, Joe Lee Wilson, Irene Reid, Walter Bishop, Jr. , Rachel Z and Jaki Byard. 

Her regular collaborators have included Tim Price, Vic Juris, Bill Goodwin, Tony Marino, Saul Rubin, Peggy Stern, Luiz Simas, Bob Cranshaw, Alki Steriopoulos and Jim Gala.  She currently co-leads and performs regularly with the Ecuadorian group Jazz de Barro, as well as appearing as soloist with a number of different ensembles.

Su Terry has also performed with a long list of stars including Art Blakey, Carmen McRae, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, George Duke, Wynton Marsalis, Barry Harris, Dr. John, Randy Brecker and Tony Danza, to name just a few. She’s been a jazz soloist with the National Symphony under Marin Alsop, the Brooklyn Philharmonic under Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, the Hartford Symphony under Gene Bozzi, the New York Pops and Florida Pops under Skitch Henderson, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Cuenca under Michael Meissner.  She has performed worldwide at clubs and jazz festivals including Montreux, Nice, Pori, Northsea, Quito, Ottawa, Playboy, Montreal, Hartford, Ibiza, Seville and Trave.  In 2013 she toured Ecuador for the U.S. State Department. In the States she's been a frequent performer at venues such as The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.  Her discography currently contains over ninety recordings and she has received a number of awards for both composition and performance. 

Su is the founder of the Cuenca Jazz Academy in Cuenca, Ecuador, where she gives regular masterclasses and mentors the next generation of musicians. 

In her writing career, Su Terry is the former lead columnist for The Note, and Jazz Improv Magazine.  In addition to authoring several music instruction books published by Music Sales Corp. and distributed by Hal Leonard, she's the author of the narrative non-fiction titles Inside the Mind of a Musician and For The Curious, and many magazine articles. Her most recent title is Music and the 7 Hermetic Principles.  Her Substack is called Temple of Artists, and features weekly articles on music and culture.

Su’s other passion is for the martial arts–she’s a longtime practitioner of  Qigong and Taijiquan and is a 9-time championship tournament gold medalist.   She now specializes in combining music with her lifelong metaphysical studies.

Su has given many nicknames over the years.  Some of them are: Sweet Sue, Blue Berry, Tiger, Mad Dog, Truth-Teller, Macha Pussycat and Badass.  The others we can't mention due to FCC regulations. 

Su Terry is a Yamaha Artist. She uses Jody Jazz mouthpieces and ligatures, and Légère reeds. 

"Su Terry on saxophone: one should almost say that this lady is born for her instrument. That relaxed, exalted playing! That rhythmic feeling! That improvisational skill! Simply extraordinary!" --Die Wahrheit Berlin, Germany 

"She has a formidable musical intelligence. . . " --Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD 

"She plays like Charlie Parker reincarnated! She smokes!" --Jazz Central Station

View more press and listener testimonials on the Su Terry official website: https://suterry.com

BIO #3

Saxophone and clarinet soloist Su Terry (aka Sue Terry and Sweet Sue Terry) is called a "Renaissance woman," a "visionary," and a "Superwoman of Jazz" by colleagues and critics alike.  Born in 1959, she is a true Elder Stateswoman of jazz, "a gem who keeps on shining."

Su forged her path in music by following her heart.  From her beginnings as an early protegeé of Jackie McLean to her stints as a soloist and composer with Charli Persip, Jaki Byard, Clifford Jordan, DIVA, John Hicks, Dr. Billy Taylor, Irene Reid, Hilton Ruiz, Joe Lee Wilson, Walter Bishop Jr., Peggy Stern, Mike Longo, Clarice Assad and countless other VIPs, she's made her mark on jazz music and beyond.

She's been a jazz soloist with symphony and pops orchestras led by Marin Alsop, Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, Michael Meissner, Augusto Carrion and Skitch Henderson, as well as with chamber groups, big bands and small ensembles.  Her award-winning playing and composing has been lauded by notable critics Robert Palmer, Stanley Crouch, Scott Yanow, Russ Musto, Bret Primack, Owen McNally, Mike Joyce and many more. Su believes that "every concert is a shamanic journey, a tightrope walk between Control and Abandon."  This credo continues to bring a freshness to her approach.

Su Terry is cited as a major inspiration for not only the outstanding female saxophonists and clarinetists of today, but for musicians of all genders, races and ages, through her recordings, books, concerts and weekly writings on her Substack called Temple of Artists.  She was named 2001 Alumna of the Year by her alma mater The Hartt School.  Now based in South America, she is integrating Andean rhythmic concepts into jazz with her Ecuador group Jazz de Barro, winners of the 2025 IberMúsicas Prize from Spain, who sponsored their first international tour in August 2026.  

She's the founder of the Cuenca Jazz Academy and maintains an active performing and teaching schedule. Her other passion is for the martial arts; now retired from tournaments, she is a 9-time international gold medalist in taijiquan.  

Su Terry is a Yamaha Artist, a Jody Jazz Artist, and a Légère Artist.

Her website is https://suterry.com.  Her recordings are available on Bandcamp, iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and other music retailers.  She's the author of the books Inside the Mind of a Musician; For The Curious; Music and the 7 Hermetic Principles; I Was a Jazz Musician For the FBI; as well as several instruction books distributed by Hal Leonard.  For more information please see her website (https://suterry.com) and the following books by other authors: Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, All Music Guide, Madame Jazz, Experiencing Jazz, Reed All About It, Have Horn Will Travel.