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Pheralyn Dove

Pheralyn Dove, also known as Lady Dove, is a writer who lives in a state of perpetual gratitude and is passionate about the art form known as jazz.

About Me

Pheralyn Dove, also known as Lady Dove, is a writer who lives in a state of perpetual gratitude and is passionate about the art form known as jazz. She feels privileged to have published interviews with such luminaries in the jazz realm as Max Roach and his sidemen: Odean Pope, Cecil Bridgewater, Tyrone Brown and other great musicians including McCoy Tyner, Hugh Masekela, Christian McBride, Sid Simmons, Grover Washington, Jr., Terence Blanchard, Art Blakey, Shirley Scott, Shirley Horn, Donald Byrd, Joshua Redmond, Khan Jamal, Trudy Pitts, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Butch Ballard and Mercer Ellington . A self-proclaimed culturalist, Dove is also a jazz poet who has appeared at Jazz a la Vilette in Paris, the Vision Festival in New York City, and the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival in Philadelphia.

A graduate of Hampton University, with a degree in mass media arts, Dove is the author of “Color in Motion,” a book of poetry featuring a foreword by legendary drummer Max Roach. “Little Girl Blue,” Dove’s one-woman show, in which she portrays 17 characters, features the live musical soundtrack of bassist/percussionist Warren Oree. A multi-media showcase, which also includes film and still photographs, “Little Girl Blue” has emerged as Dove’s tour-de-force and has been selected for the juried New York City International Fringe Festival.

Dove’s love for writing across creative and technical formats has been the catalyst for her eclectic career, including stints as a press agent, a radio host/producer, an entertainment reporter/ editor for the “Philadelphia Tribune” and feature writer for the “Philadelphia Inquirer.” As a fundraiser, Dove has been the lead grant writer on teams that have raised more than $75 million dollars for visionary educational and nonprofit enterprises. She is the featured poet on Khan Jamal’s “Return from Exile” and “African Rhythm Tongues” CDs, as well as Tyrone Brown’s “Moon of the Falling Leaves” CD. A native of Philadelphia, Dove is also passionate about her community work in her hometown as a volunteer with the Elvira B. Pierce Scholarship Fund, which provides mentoring opportunities and resources for students at Overbrook High School.

Lady Dove was chosen for the artist’s residency at the University of Pennsylvania’s 40th Street AIRSPACE and served as a peer review panelist for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. She teaches “Practical Writing for the Real World” at Temple University’s Pan African Studies Community Education Program. A multi-faceted communicator, Dove has traveled nationally and internationally as a journalist, covering cultural arts stories from Paris, France, to Bahia, Brazil and all across the United States. In addition to jazz greats, she has interviewed Oprah Winfrey, James Baldwin, James Brown, Coretta Scott King, Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson and a plethora of others. Dove is humbled and honored to have been the last print journalist to interview the late, great Isaac Hayes, less than a week prior to his passing in 2008. What started out as a feature article ended up being a front-page tribute and obituary for the “Philadelphia Tribune.” Lady Dove brings her passion for truth and beauty from the page, to the stage, to the airwaves.

My Jazz Story

I always looked up to my oldest brother. He was the essence of cool to me. When I was 12, he turned me on to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," and I've been in love with this music ever since. Around the same time, he also introduced me to the wonders of Joe Zawinul, Cannonball Adderly, Quincy Jones, and Thelonius Monk. These early influences left a lasting impression on my life.