Sarah Jane Cion
Quick Facts
Biography
Sarah Jane Cion, also known by her pen name Sally Shields, is an American jazz musician, author and pianist.
Music career
Sarah Jane Cion received the Boston Jazz Society Award in 1988. She graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1990. In 1991, she was chosen as one of four pianists to attend the Banff School of Fine Arts, with faculty of Steve Coleman, Rufus Reid, Kevin Eubanks, Marvin Smith, Kenny Wheeler and Dave Holland.
In July 1996, she worked with Monty Alexander in his jazz workshop in Verbier, Switzerland. She won the 17th Annual Great American Jazz Piano Competition held in Jacksonville, in 1999. The Sarah Jane Cion Trio was the opening act for the George Coleman Quartet at the Mellon Jazz Festival in Pittsburgh. The Trio was presented in concert by Savannah On Stage in March 2001, and at the Smithsonian Institution-Voice of America Stage in Washington D.C. in May 2001.
She has performed with many well-known artists including Clark Terry, Etta Jones, Anita O'Day, Carmen Leggio and James McBride. Her music has appeared on All My Children in the Pine Valley Inn scenes. She performed "Golden Song" in the movie Thor: The Dark World. She has toured Israel, Portugal, Japan, Germany, Austria and England. She is married to bassist Phil Palombi.
Discography
- Indeed! (Consolidated Artists Production, 1999), featuring Antonio Hart and Tony Reedus
- Moon Song (Naxos, 2000), featuring Chris Potter and Billy Hart
- Summer Night (Naxos, 2001), featuring Michael Brecker
- Lara’s Lullabies (CAP, 2004)
- "Sarah Jane Cion | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- Nate Guidry (May 19, 2000). "Sarah Jane Cion - Moon Song (Review)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
Books
Sarah Jane Cion has authored or contributed to the following music-related works:
- Sarah Cion (4 June 2012). Lara's Lullabies: Studies for the Intermediate/Advanced Book and Recording Set. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4752-8056-2.
- A Baker’s Dozen: 13 Contemporary Jazz Etudes: Studies and Etudes for the Intermediate/Advanced
- The Pianist's Jammin’ Handbook!
- Steinway Library Of Piano Music: Jazz Piano — Pieces To Grow On (2006)
- Cion, Sarah Jane (2005). Modern Jazz Piano: An Intermediate Guide to Jazz Concepts, Improvisation, Technique and Theory. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-634-08366-2. OCLC 60456540.
She has also authored several advice books under the pen name "Sally Shields":
- Sally Shields (2012). A Pond Beneath the Moon: A Book of Poems. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4382-3914-9.
- Sally Shields (2011). Naturally Thin Or Disciplined?: Insider Secrets of the Sexy and Slim!. Blooming Twig. ISBN 978-1-933918-96-9.
- Sally Shields (2010). The Collaborator Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Stay Friends with Your Co-Author!. Outskirts Press. ISBN 978-0-9747617-1-8.
- Sally Shields (2009). The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends With) Your Mother-In-Law!. Blooming Twig. ISBN 978-1-933918-45-7.
- Zan Stewart (2010-01-21). "Sarah Jane Cion at Cecil's Jazz Club in West Orange". The Star-Ledger.