Terryl Lee

Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, Terryl Lee Elder, Jr. was destined to be a star. The son of a former band leader, it seemed as if he was born in the world of music. At the young age of six, Terryl Lee began to perform in talent shows as a member of a dance group, alongside his older sister, and younger cousin, which they called, “New Faces.” Aside from dancing, Terryl wrote songs which he shared with his mother. While listening to his music she was amazed by the maturity in her youn...

Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, Terryl Lee Elder, Jr. was destined to be a star. The son of a former band leader, it seemed as if he was born in the world of music. At the young age of six, Terryl Lee began to perform in talent shows as a member of a dance group, alongside his older sister, and younger cousin, which they called, “New Faces.” Aside from dancing, Terryl wrote songs which he shared with his mother. While listening to his music she was amazed by the maturity in her young son’s lyrics. Afraid that his singing voice was not good enough to be heard, he limited his talent to just singing around the house. He realized that he had a “voice” when a family member saw a home video and asked him if he would sing in her neighborhood’s annual talent show. It wasn’t until the age of 14 that Terryl began to share his singing voice with the public. He performed in many talent shows, sang at weddings, funerals, memorial services, retirement parties, night clubs, such as Mitty’s in Newport News, VA; Five Spot in New York City; and Tommy I’s in West Haven, CT. At the age of 19, he had already written many songs but didn’t have any music for them. He bought a guitar and began to make his own music. Now his hopes and dreams of being an artist are stronger than ever. He has formed a band and is watching his musical ideas come to life. He’s always in prayer, asking God for the chance to have his music heard and enjoyed by others. He often told people, “When you follow where your heart takes you, you’ll realize your mind was there the whole time.” He listened to his own advice and realized that if he followed his dream of becoming a musician he’ll realize that he’s already a musician, just waiting for his opportunity to be heard. The Terryl Lee Band consists of Terryl Lee (vocals and guitar), Paul Jean (vocals), Peter Bryniczka (guitar), Jeff Wasserman (bass) and Clark Thiemann (drums). The lineup coalesced in the summer of 2007 and has quickly developed into a versatile unit capable of turning Terryl’s songs into smooth R&B jams, full-on funk workouts, blazin’ hip-hop bangers, rootsy reggae trips, or, more often than not, some combination of all.