The Power of Faith

I am no warrioress with musket 
and sword 
on my waist and my hair cut close to the scalp in a role to defend my king. But I am a fighter and I am royalty. 

I like to indulge in my passions as I roam through my kingdom, unapologetically and push doggedly on. I will admit that I live a dotty lifestyle and sometimes when you look at me, you might see wildness underneath my crown, in your eyes. It may even drive you mad, if you yourself do not have your own little strange way of being that makes you uniquely you. But I have been blessed with God’s amazing grace who created this unforgettable world around me and I am powerful in my own right.

I will not say that life has been easy to navigate. I will however admit that every moment that I existed in belonged to me. Sometimes I have to break out into applause at all the life-changing experiences that God kept me from experiencing the downward spiral of destruction, which gives me reason to stay in a positive frame of mind. I could sing about this truth forever. 

As knee deep into life that I am, I am far from the point of my origin and so very thankful for that. It has been like a sonic boom and sometimes I still feel the trumpeting vibrations of my stupendously loud childhood, but my attraction to visions of the future are all the reason to ruffle my feathers with confidence for that possible utopia. I know that the possibilities are boundless and I am totally worth it and to know that empowers me. This is the reason why I am able to awaken with a grateful heart every day.

God kept me from destruction in my decrepitude and I am still here to speak of his mercies, even though I am not perfect. How awesome is that? His amazing grace enables me to have a renewed sense of purpose each day and it gives me reason to dance for joy every morning when I see the red glow of sunrise.

Know that You Are Not Alone

We all have at one time or another, come into a difficult trial. We all have experienced hurt or pain. We all find ourselves in a valley of tears every now and then. We all vie for a better life and to enjoy peace of mind. 

Time to face the reality of life. Time to forgive yourself for your falls. Time to accept yourself for who you are where you are. Time to get more out of life. Time to rejoice in the truth of how blessed you truly are.

No need to allow restless thoughts to keep me up at night. There is still courage to be faithful even when disagreeable things come and toy with my spirit. And no need to take anger and frustration out on myself for situations that come into my life that I cannot change; even if the situation is of my own doing. And no need to feel as if you are so alone in this world that the only thing left in your heart is the desire to not live and to commit suicide. Even in moments of distress, never give up. Don’t let doubt blindside you from seeing the truth about the amazingly, wonderful person that you are.

You should know that you are a very important character in this world and the warm sunshine in someone else’s heart. Never forget that; even while bemoaning your own circumstances and while experiencing the severe pressures and demands that comes with the life we are given. You can still find a source of joy to keep your head to the sky. The most important thing is to not let go of it.

If any reason to hold steadily on the course, let it be the splendor of the dawn. Look skyward and be thankful for the blessing of time to fall into a torpor to be still in its refreshing embrace after hustling all day with the wonderful strength you have been built with and for the grace that wakes you up with in the morning.

I am no warrioress with musket and sword on my waist and my hair cut close to the scalp to play the role as bodyguard for the king but instead, I have a king who is my bodyguard who saved my life on countless occasions. For him to see so many reasons to love me regardless of all my imperfections, who am I not to love myself in the same way. I am blessed to see another day and grateful for every day that I can say that I have been kept. And with that in mind, perhaps my original song entitled, "You Loved Me" by Stephanie Jeannot and Mike LeShore might add a little bit more inspiration to your day.  

Hope it does. Thank you for stopping by my blog! 

On the Black Panther Movie

Black Panther the movie will have you streaming with perspiration like you are on a treadmill in a gym because it is action-packed and so hot that you won't be able to help it. 

As my friend and I were walking into my neighborhood theater in Brooklyn, people were walking out from the previous showing of this film talking about how great it was. I am going to try my best to formulate my enthusiasm into words without spoiling it for those who have yet to see this amazing movie.

There is nothing new under the sun. Marvel Comics have been producing some of the best films I have seen in theaters for years. I loved Wonder-woman, Thor, The Amazing Spiderman and the Avengers a lot. But here, we have a fresh perspective that arouses the audience’s attention with new twists to familiar plots, except not so familiar because of the setting and the people who are being represented.

Now, if you are like me and go to the movies, you might be someone who often finds yourself getting up in the middle to head on over to the lavatory which causes you to miss some great content. Or perhaps, you are someone who sometimes sinks into lethargy in the middle of a great movie because your choice of time to go to catch a good flick is after a day of toil when you have only but the remaining flicker of your strength. Black Panther however, will not allow you to miss a beat of it because of all the excitement that is involved that will somehow force you to make a frantic effort to pay attention.

The wild and distant region in West Africa known as Wakanda is the setting. What comes with the territory is the beautiful fields, the Amazon warriors with their swords and fighting skills, the breathtaking landscapes, West African cultural practices and music, a royal kingdom and its most aristocratic people in their majestic, tribal fashion and one of the most sophisticated advances of technology that the world has ever seen, though Wakanda is considered by outsiders as “the poorest country in the world.”

As with any of the Marvel comic heroes, the Black Panther uses his superhuman strength and emotional investment to go boldly to the task to defend the land and the people, in the face of crisis. 

Chadwick Boseman portrays the role of King Dijala and does a great job in showcasing the strength of the black panther who has been preparing his whole life to lead and manifest faith in his people as their respected king. He is the ethical representative of the republic with a great deal of responsibility to handle the undiluted nonsense that comes in and tries to demolish the people of Wakanda's masterpiece of existence, which prompts action from the king and his army to fight to escape the clutches of ruin. 

Other memorable actors in this film are Angela Bassett who portrays his mother, Forrest Whitaker who plays the role of his uncle, Michael P Jordon who plays the role of one of the antagonists and Lupita Nyong’o who portrays the love interest of the Black Panther.

If you love a movie with lots of action, Black Panther has it. I love the fighting scenes. You can feel the force of each blow as you watch and are entertained by the suspenseful and thrilling scenes. Being moved from scene to scene became like a routine that never wavered. 

The story built with intensity as in an oral history being retold by a Griot to a child alongside a pile of wood being burnt to the beating of Conga drums.  The series of events the Griot shares under the cover of the night, are something that you may crave to hear again a few times because of the intensity of the story being told; especially with the 3-D effects.

With all the airing out of opinions that I heard of Black Panther, it was only a matter of time before I would take the leap to find out what the buzz was all about. This movie about the heroic soul, meshed well with me and suited my purpose. It was one of the best movies I could have ever expected to watch. I would say, this movie is so worth seeing, but if you want to know more about the Black Panther, maybe you want to acquaint yourself with this superhero first and then go. Check out:

Who is the Black Panther? (Marvel Novels)

My favorite lines from Black Panther Movie:

“Guns, so primitive!” (Such perfect timing to hear a thought like this; especially with all the recent sad events that have taken place in Florida.)

&

“You cannot let your father’s mistakes define you. You must be the one to decide what kind of King you are going to be!” (This definitely inspired lots of meaning for me to be able to carry on with motivation for whatever lies ahead on this journey of life.)

Black Panther Inspired This Week’s Jazz on the JNote

This week on my radio show Jazz on the JNote, we continue our black history series on Sunday, February 25, 2018 and celebrate those black conquerors who pushed boundaries in the world of acting. There are so many television shows and movies that have dramatically affected my life because people who looked like me were being represented on the big screen and changed the face of acting to sumptuous entertainment for people with black skin; many of which I watched with eyes of love.

This week’s show was inspired by the wonderfully penned Marvel comic screenplay, Black Panther, that is unlike any other because of its featuring a black superhero, images of black aristocratic people well bedecked with jewelry and fine clothes, and talks about issues concerning black people of this world.

Here is How You Can Listen

Tune in Sunday February 25, 2018 

7:00 PM EST http://www.theenglishconnectionmedia.com  (worldwide)

7:30PM EST WNYE 91.5FM (NY, NJ, CT)

Thank you for stopping by my blog. If you are interested, Jazz on the JNote is on Facebook. Like our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jazzonthejnote/

On 2/18/2018 Jazz on the JNote Celebrates the Excellent Story of Harriet Tubman

“We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence then is not an act, but a habit” 

(Aristotle)

I am always looking for a good topic to base each episode of my show on. I spend some time making a frantic effort to allow the blanket of the non-stop flow of music that you find on Jazz on the JNote, to have a concentration of focus so that as the show barrels ahead, the music can fuel the momentum of the topic at hand.

The main theme of every episode of Jazz on the JNote is jazz, identity and race, as was my college thesis, which was how this radio show started back in June of 2015. The show was a way to help me to conduct research as I sojourned to write 30 pages on jazz and how it helped to implement an identity and political tongue for people of color. 

And so, in trying to keep each episode as new as possible without too many repeats being aired, as each week progresses, not only do I do an extensive search of “today in jazz history,” but also one on “today in black history” and then narrow down my search to one particular area of focus from the information populated, which caused the most overflow of words to hit my blank page.

Here are a few of the things that I found:

Some of This Week’s Jazz Birthdays

Henry Threadgill – February 15, 1944

Randy Crawford – February 18, 1952

Nancy Wilson – February 20, 1937

Nina Simone – February 21, 1933

It Happened This Week in Jazz History

Mahalia Jackson recorded “Come Sunday” with Duke Ellington – February 12, 1958

Nat King Cole Died – February 15, 1965

Bessie Smith made her first recording “Downhearted Blues” -  February 16, 1923

Thelonious Monk Died – February 17, 1982

Billie Holiday recorded “Lady in Satin” – February 18, 1958

It Happened this week in Black History

February 12, 1793

The First Fugitive Slave Law was enacted by congress

February 12, 1900

First black secretary of the NAACP, James Weldon Johnson, wrote the lyrics to, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” for an Abraham Lincoln birthday celebration

February 12, 1908

NAACP founded in NYC following the race riot of 1908 in Springfield, IL, with a mission to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. It was founded by bold and daring pioneers sociologist WEB DuBois, lawyer Archibald Grimke, civil rights activist Henry Moskowtiz, suffragists Mary White Ovington and Mary Church Terrell, labor reformer William English Walling, social and political reformer Florence Kelley, and journalists Charles Edward Russell, Oswald Garrington Villard and Ida B Wells all joining forces to eliminate race prejudice and to lead grassroots campaigns for social justice, equal protection of the law, equal opportunities and voter mobilization.

February 14, 1817

The man for whom Carter G Woodson based Black History Week around when it first became a notable time of celebration, Frederick Douglass, was born

February 17, 1891

A black inventor, A C Richardson, invented the patent for the churn

February 17, 1902

The first black person to ever be invited to sing in the White House, Marion Anderson, was born.

Focus for February 18, 2018

It didn’t happen this week in black history but rather this month . . . On February 1, 1978, Harriet Tubman became the first black woman to be honored with a US Postal stamp, and after a more extensive acquaintance with this heroine’s brilliant history, the topic of discussion based on the Fugitive Slave Law and the US Postal Stamp, became my focal point.

Harriet Tubman

“A woman does not run among thorns for no reason;

either she is chasing a snake

or a snake is chasing her.”

– (African Proverb)

This week, we celebrate the unwavering faith of Aramanta Ross, better known to the world as Harriett Tubman. She was also coined by many as Black Moses because she risked her own life out of stern necessity to rescue her people from their place of struggle, judgment and no justice in which they dwelt at the risk of harsh punishment, lashings to the skin or even assassination by lynching or beheading.  She was more than just a noble and brave, dedicated humanitarian but a respected leader in her own right.

This week’s episode is dedicated to Harriet Tubman's fugitive steps in her endeavor to help her people to pilot away from the south, guided by the steady light of the north star to freedom. Please join us as we celebrate her life and incredible story. 

Here is How You Can Listen

Tune in Sunday February 18, 2018

7:00 PM EST http://www.theenglishconnectionmedia.com  (worldwide)

7:30PM EST WNYE 91.5FM (NY, NJ, CT)

Thank you for stopping by my blog. If you are interested, Jazz on the JNote is on Facebook. Like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jazzonthejnote/

And Then There Were The Ladies of Jazz

March is Women’s History Month which is a month to celebrate the remarkable women in history who have used the utmost limits of their naturally remarkable power to showcase their extraordinary talents.

On March 10, 2018 from 2PM to 3:30PM at the Roosevelt Public Library located at 27 W Fulton Avenue in Roosevelt, NY, I am excited to bring to you, “And Then There Were the Ladies of Jazz” which is a jazz show dedicated to some of the greatest women of jazz to ever share their talents with the world. This show will celebrate the lives of the first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald, the pathos and tone of Billie Holiday, the operatic voice of the Divine One, Sarah Vaughan and the amazingly talented, Carmen McRae with music hosted by Stephanie Jeannot and her Jazz Quartet with special guest performances by JAzz E Matt, Dalthannette Munlin and Stacey Haughton, just to name a few.

These phenomenal women of jazz were newsmakers of their day. They tokenized the genre of vocal jazz with their memorable voices that just simply melted into the masses. They had global influence with their contributions to the culture.

For me, every time I listen to them strike a note, their voices generate happiness and heal my heart in scission, every time I listen to them sing. They embody the actual skill of what jazz singing is all about.

And while the tremendous struggle for equality was being fought, they were making progress by forcing a shift of mindset and helping to change legal, unjust and immoral Jim Crow establishments; many of which integrated so that these women would be allowed to showcase their talents at these establishments, becoming ambassadors of acceptance of people of color as human beings and creating a sense of belonging in places where blacks originally were not before.

Each, in their own way, showcased virtuosic musicianship and impacted the future with their influence that seemed to resonate in the hearts and spirits of multitudes of people across cultures. With this is mind, "And Then There Were the Ladies of Jazz" will feature meaningful moments in celebration of these women who transformed the world with their technical prowess. This show will focus on the profiles of these remarkable innovators who showed their strengths to the world not only as people of color but as women.

This Sunday 2/11/18 on Jazz on the JNote: Tribute to Nelson Mandela

“The human voice is the organ of the soul” 

(Valorie Burton)

Nelson Mandela used the totality of his being to change the face of the modern world. He spent his life entrenched in thought about being a victim of cultural imposition and used his voice to speak up against it. He took on the stupendous task of organizing social wars for the mental, spiritual and physical freedom of his people. 

He became a legend in his own time because he worked hard to make adjustments to the so-called laws of supremacy that came in the apartheid era when human rights for people who were living in South Africa were continuously being violated. He provided encouragement then and still in today’s world. And with this in mind, this Sunday, my show Jazz on the JNote will be dedicated to his life.

This Sunday, Jazz on the JNote which is a jazz-based radio show hosted by Stephanie Jeannot, will focus on the life and achievements of the hero, Nelson Mandela, as part of our four-week Black History Month series. While the non-stop music flow of jazz is being played, there will also be moments of conversation about the life and times of the first black president of South Africa. Please listen if you can.

How to Listen

Sunday 7PM EST http://www.theenglishconnectionmedia.com

Sunday 7:30PM EST WNYE 91.5 FM

In the 24/7 Rotation at Medgar Evers College Community Radio http://www.mec.cuny.edu/wmec-radio

Hope that you will tune in and we will be able to vibe together. If you do, let me know by simply saying hello in the chatroom on-line. I always look forward to conversing with listeners.

Listenership

I should also mention that, at the end of every show, I ask listeners for their comments, suggestions or songs selections that they may be interested in hearing on future episodes and if you do, please feel free to share these songs, even if they are your own, to jazzonthejnote@yahoo.com

Thank you so much for checking out my blog post and hope to connect with you all really soon. Have a wonderfully blessed day.

Poettues: And Then There Was the Music

It’s poetry Tuesday and today my cognitive load seems to be on poetic works.

As we celebrate the black history of America and the world, today I want to honor such poets as Melvin B Tolson who said, “When the exceptional historian comes along, we have a poet.” Some other notable poets who were iconic and left behind a wealth of works for the world to enjoy are Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar, just to name a few.

Alice Walker was not only a poet but a civil rights activist who participated in the march on Washington in 1963 and volunteered to enroll persons of color to vote in Georgia and in Mississippi. She felt that “activism was her rent for being on this earth.”

SPEAKING OF POETRY . . .

What better day than today to announce that for the first time, my second book, And Then There Was the Music; Musical Poetry and an Essay is available on Amazon. 

And Then There Was the Music

I didn’t think I had 100 pages of writing in me until I saw the hundred pages unfold before my eyes. I didn’t think I had as much focus as I did to complete a work like this until I decided to sit and just let the words flow. But thank God for the joys of writing and sharing some historical data about music and how it has been used as a political voice since the beginning of time, as well as other fun, music related poems that I included.

Here are a few poems that you might see in the book. Hopefully you will take the time to read them and if you like them, please consider purchasing a copy of my book for yourself.

  

Lessons in the Blues

Don’t let hate, interrupt the rhythm of the 24 hours you’ve been given in your day.

Don’t let the rocks that slingers throw blind your vision and get in your way.

Don’t let lack of love from your brothers cause you to feel shame.

Don’t let the prejudicial system make you lose you’re A-game.

Don’t let the denial of true education stop you in your mental growth.

Don’t let bad news keep you from opening the newspapers to get in the know.

Don’t let the sound of the 9:30 bell discourage you from earning your own dough.

Don’t think that little you, can’t make a difference because you can glow.

We all got bills and baggage and things to do before the day is done.

We all got bills due that we must pay off to someone.

We all got lives worth living and no the blues need not apply.

We all got means to see the truth for ourselves with our own eyes.

We all got to sit down to defecate regardless of color.

And we all take off one pant leg at a time, whether a sister or brother.

And we all have a song and dance and a rhythm of life we keep.

It’s learning that we are all not that different that mostly makes me weep.

Why are we blind to this truth of the world in which we live?

And why is the blues the only means that some people live?

And why is it that some don’t even have a real reason to give,

to explain why they hate based on color, sex or religion?

Charles Pulliam

Listen to the rhythm of the tumbadora.

Hands beating its wood;

Sounding the heartbeat

between scat chorus you hear the throb

taking you to another place like the turn of a door knob.

A quartet of songs

with an application of beautiful hand drumming along

met by a huge cheering crowd

and Charles Pulliam, all decked out, smiling out loud.

IPod

When these headphones are plugged into my ear, I tune out the world

and hear nothing else.

Even if I come and ring somebody’s bell and they say, “Who is it” I can’t tell

because my song be on and that’s all that matters when my IPod is on play.

Just make sure you hear sirens ringing if they are speeding your way

or the conductor saying the train is skipping stops and yours is one of them;

even if the song currently being absorbed is a hit from an iconic gem

Indie Artists

Independent artists of the planet.

Charles Mingus, Max Roach and 21-Century artists.

Music makers, dreamers coloring the day with their art.

Bohemian rhapsodies they play in the day and in the dark.

We bring social influence to light.

We push our music because our message is our why.

We sink like the Titanic into the work that needs to be done.

Our music is the magic we use to try to affect everyone.

We flood our thoughts, share them and leave a little sparkle.

Our life is our canvas to wake up and be-you-tiful.

Hope that you enjoyed the read and if you did, please check out some of the other poems featured in this book. It is available in both Kindle and print version. You can check out my author page on Amazon here: Stephanie Jeannot's Author Page