Ed Cherry was born on October 12, 1954 in New Haven, Connecticut. Learning to play guitar as a child by the time he moved to New York in 1978 he was playing with  Dizzy Gillespie. This relationship lasted until 1992, performing in Gillespie's quartet, big band and with The United Nation Orchestra, which recorded the Grammy Award-winning “Live at Royal Festival Hall”.

In 1993 Cherry released his first recording as a leader, “First Take” as well as performing with Paquito D' Rivera’s small group and recording "Havana Cafe". He…