Longtime pianist-arranger John Sheridan has assumed leadership of the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, which will continue its bi-weekly gigs at San Antonio restaurants as well as the bimonthly Trinity University Skyline Swing Dances sponsored by KRTU Jazz 91.7 and the local Swing Dance Society.
Following his graduation from Capital University in his home town of Columbus, Ohio, Sheridan signed on with the U.S. Navy School of Music and was assigned to be the combo pianist for the Navy Band in Washington, D.C.
“A lot of good things happened to me during those years,” he recalled. “I did my first serious arranging. I subbed quite a bit for The Commodores and did some gigs on the Presidential yacht, The Sequoia. It was during President Nixon’s first administration. He only used the yacht as a getaway when he needed to prepare for an important speech or summit meeting. But he did let his favorite congressmen and Cabinet members use it for entertaining. I was like a fly on the wall watching a slice of history.”
He moved to Dallas in 1972 to work on his Master’s degree at North Texas State (now the University of North Texas). He soon had a busy musician-student schedule that included work with T
