James Sherlock is an Aotearoa born, Australian based jazz guitarist and composer based in Melbourne. He began studying classical guitar at the age of seven and graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 1992. In 1997, he won the Ike Isaacs International Jazz Guitar Award. As a bandleader, Sherlock has released six albums and performed extensively throughout Australia, Europe, Asia and North and South America. He has appeared at major international festivals and venues including the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he opened for George Benson and Al Jarreau alongside long-time musical collaborator Kristin Berardi.

Over the course of his career, Sherlock has worked with a wide range of Australian and international artists including Sheila Jordan, Cyrille Aimée, Jeff “Tain” Watts, John Riley, Leroy Jones, Martin Taylor, Megan Washington, Joe Camilleri, Howard Shore, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has also appeared on recordings with musicians including Kristin Berardi, Sam Anning, Kurt Elling, Kate Ceberano, Ben Hanlon, Emma Gilmartin and Jake Mason.

Recent projects include performing on François Tétaz’s score for the feature film “The Surfer” (2025), directed by Lorcan Finnegan and starring Nicolas Cage and “The Modern Ark” by Jake Mason Trio featuring Kurt Elling and Kate Ceberano. Sherlock currently performs in Paul Grabowsky’s projects “Concierto” based on Jim Hall’s 1975 album of the same name, and “The Old Rugged Cross” featuring powerhouse vocalist Emma Donovan. In 2021, Sherlock was featured as soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s “Blood on the Floor”. The James Sherlock Trio was also featured in the ABC TV jazz series The Pulse.

In October 2023, Sherlock released “The Verb Not the Noun”, his first trio recording since “Domestic Arts” (2010) and his first album of original compositions since “Watermark” (2006). The album features Sam Anning on double bass and Danny Fischer on drums which was nominated in 2024 for Best Jazz Work at The Music Victoria Awards. “The Verb Not The Noun” explores the textural and harmonic possibilities of the guitar trio format using both archtop and nylon-string guitar. Recorded at Head Gap Studios, the album was engineered by Rohan Sforcina and mixed and mastered by Dave Darlington with artwork by Jeff Raglus.