A Celebration of Phenomenal Women Icons of Jazz Worth Checking Out

If you love a good jazz cover then you might enjoy this upcoming concert. 

Stephanie JNote will be in concert at Roosevelt Public Library and you should go. It is going to be an unbelievable afternoon of fun and laughter with a beautiful cast of people, all coming together on one stage to celebrate some phenomenal women icons of jazz. Specifically Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan.

Join the JNote Sextet

Charles Bartlett (Trumpet)
Daniel Dalelio (Piano)
JNOTE (Vocals)
Herb Lewis (Saxophone)
Napoleon Revels-Bey (Drums)
Rachiim Sahu (Bass)

And special guests JaZz E Matt Dalthannette Munlin Stacey Haughton and Wayne Holmes.

This show will be held this Saturday, March 10, 2018 from 2PM to 3:30PM at

Roosevelt Public Library
27 West Fulton Avenue
in the Roosevelt section of Long Island, NY

Exit 21 off the Southern State
Free Admission. Free Parking Available.

Hope that you can make it for what Stephanie calls, "And Then There Were the Ladies of Jazz; Women's History Month Celebration. It's gonna be so much fun. 

Check out a sample of what you might see live if you attend the concert. It's a cover of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" performed live with JNote Quintet at Club Bonafied in New York, NY.


Mike Benjamin (Bass)

Danne Dalelio (Piano)

Stephanie Jeannot (Vocals)

Herb Lewis (Saxophone)

Napoleon Revels-Bey (Drums)


https://youtu.be/D06ciJSsFQw

JazzEMatt Performs Cover of "Been So Long"

It is not everyday that you hear a great cover of a classic Anita

Baker tune, and then you come across people like New York's own 

JazzEMatt, flexing his vocals to put his magic on the stage.

Check out this cool cover of Anita Baker's "Been So Long" 

performed by JazzEMatt at Moda Grill located in the Jamaica 

section Queens, NY.

Look out for this dope artist, coming out with his original project 

soon and performing in and around New York.

I Only Have Eyes For You

The song "I Only Have Eyes For You" may have been written by Harry Warren and Al Dublin in 1934, but it still retains its beauty in the present day. 

The popular romantic jazz song or standard, has been covered by many artists since the day that it was introduced to the world in the film Dames, including recently at a celebration of music concert at Brooklyn's Medgar Evers College by the Medgar Evers College Jazz Ensemble which is directed by Professror Roman Mitchell and features a plethora of the colleges students and graduates. 

This rendition is directed by the scholar and also features Mitchell on trumpet, Stephanie Jeannot on vocals, Steven Lawrence on piano, and Nathaniel Manning on drums. 

Why Adele's Mishap While Covering George Michael's Tune Made Me Happy

Were you like me last night, bounded by emotion while watching the Grammy Awards last night?

Somehow the monumental force of love creeped in and I felt this synchronicity with the screen. I will admit that I am probably with Kanye West’s ideas of who deserves the trophy and usually do not watch the award show at all for that simple reason. But I felt that there were many moments that were beautiful beyond reckoning.

Adele swept up a few ideas that I loved. The biggest night of music started with a performance by Adele and she enchanted the crowd by simply singing without all the theatrics proving that she is a real singer and does not need much more than her voice to be in harmony with the people in her surroundings.  They felt what she had to give because she really sang her song with pure emotion and meant every word.

But I found immeasurable comfort in who she is as an individual when she started to sing her tribute to George Michael. As she sang the cover of George Michael’s “Fast Love,” she realized she messed up by singing in the wrong key. She stopped the band, recognized her mistake before the more than a million viewers and started the song over to do the job that she was supposed to do.

We live our lives in recurring rhythms. We get up, try and then if we fail, we are hit with snowballs of commentaries about it that isn’t entirely fair but true. It is not normal for us to see someone humble enough to admit, hey, I’m not doing this thing right. Can we try it again? And then she tried it again and nailed it.  She decided not to feel vulnerable and alone in her mistake on stage. She carved into her ego for another opportunity and got out of the heat that she felt that she was in. Many of us watching stared in disbelief. I felt a tinge of sadness for her though I also felt like getting out of my seat and dancing like a jitterbugger at Duke’s Place thinking of how she commanded the moments to follow. She showed herself as human and that is what made the show for me.

Speaking of dancing like a jitterbugger, maybe you are interested in getting into the jazz dance experience. Check out this cool video of dancing and The Harlem Swing Dance Society grooving to jazz sounds by the JNote Band. https://youtu.be/0DMMHXwhylY

If you understand the moves that these dancers are doing, this is what it felt as an individual who steps up to the plate and sometimes fouls out felt like. Adele proved that there is nothing wrong with taking a second chance at hitting a home run. The difference is, she did on the wildest night of music. This song was about the wildest joints in town during the jazz era when Duke Ellington was feeding up chocks full of dreams.

Fine Art Singers of New York "O Come All Ye Faithful"

Under the baton of conductor and director, Dr Verna Green, 

the Fine Art Singers of New York 

(FASONY) sings a rendition of "O 

Come All Ye Faithful" arranged by 

Lee Holdridge at the 2016 

Handel's Messiah Sing-All 

performed at St Pauls United 

Methodist Church in Brooklyn, NY.

Earl Alexander . . . Tenor

Laurel Bailey . . . Alto

Aubrey Baker . . . Bass-Baritone

Kalita Black-Morel . . . Alto

Janet Bruce . . . Soprano

Monica Goodridge . . . Sooprano

Maridah Green . . .  Soprano

Marolyn Green . . . Alto

Olivia Hall . . Alto

Cliff Hicklin . . . Tenor

Clinton Ingram . . . Tenor

Veronica Jackson . . . Alto

Hugh Johnson . . . Tenor

Beverly Joseph . . . Soprano

Oliver Keith . . . Tenor

Dorcia McDuffie . . . Alto

Jackie McKenzie . . . Soprano

Emmanuel Obi . . . Tenor

Roger Patten . . . Bass

Karmesha Peake . . . Contralto

Balfour Peart . . . Bass

Mary Prime-Nelson . . . Soprano

Napoleon Revels-Bey . . . Timpani

Opal Salmon . . . Soprano

Austin Sarjeant . . . Bass

Waldo Waterman . . . Bass

Amy White . . . Alto

Jeanine Williams . . . Soprano

Linda T Williams . . . Alto

Sophie Williams Johnson . . . Estey-Burke Pipe Organ

If you have a character like mine, then you love the songs of 

the holidays and enjoy listening to them and singing along. 

With your own soulful embellishments, why don’t you join in 

the joyous caroling of FASONY, as we celebrate this 2016 

season of Christmas. Here is the link: 

https://youtu.be/oYK4d9Eb5JU

Chestnuts Roasting on a Professor Roman G Mitchell Trumpet Call

Most people refer to the song as CHESTNUTS. Perhaps it is  because the iconic Christmas carol that everyone has grown to love begins with the word chestnuts.

The song, more commonly known as THE CHRISTMAS SONG was written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Torme. It touched hearts mainly because of its feel good nature. One could just sink into the sound and melt without even joining into the chorus; though, once you hear the song, you are tempted to sing-along. Do you feel the same way?

A host of individuals have covered this tune, adding their own flair of soulfulness from their little corner of creativity, to the joyous tune.

I invite you all to check out the beautiful, instrumental rendition of this tune performed by the Medgar Evers Jazz Ensemble featuring

Nathaniel Manning . . .  Drums
Professor Roman Mitchell . . . Trumpet
Steven Lawrence . . . Piano

We are well on our way within the 25 days of Christmas. Tomorrow marks the second week of Advent and today just seems like the perfect day to enjoy 
some holiday cheer. 

Check out the very cheerful and wonderful rendition of 
THE CHRISTMAS SONG aka "Chestnuts" here: https://youtu.be/NhlFl_dX148

Teach Me Tonight covered by the Medgar Evers Jazz Ensemble featuring Jovann Alexis Augustin

Have you heard this cool rendition of the Gene De Paul's and Sammy Cahn's 1953 jazz standard by the Medgar Evers College Jazz Ensemble featuring vocalist Jovann Alexis Augustin?

This song was performed by this lively and very  engaging group live at Megar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY.

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/lrSVRX2PrOU