S is For Single Garment of Destiny – Ujima - Happy Kwanzaa!

“We are tied in a single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality” (Dr Martin Luther King Jr)

It is not a bad thing to have an emotional response to others when you see the things that they are going through. Sometimes you might feel a sense of urgency to pray for others because of what the media shows. That’s the right thing to do because we are all one body of people on this one earth. Right?

Not everyone’s life feels like a sweet joyride. Some people are unable to commit themselves to a grind and straggle behind because they are physically incapable of it. Some people live crying in agony on a daily basis because there is no hope to build on or to be maintained and instead, they sit and suffer every day. Some people die for a meal a day while others have the opportunity to eat six small meals a day. Some people sleep in a warm bed every night while others sleep in cardboard boxes. Some people have the ability to walk to wherever they want to go while others cannot because they are in wheel chairs. Some people cannot dedicate themselves to reading because they were not taught to read nor did they have educational opportunities available to them.

Some folks carry on traditions that are different than the ones we live. Some go to church every day. Others may go only on Christmas and Easter or not at all. Some folks celebrate their birthdays with laudatory festivals. Others fast to celebrate their new year.

We all are the same because we all are different. We all have baggage, songs and dances. We all lived romances and have taken chances from the moment we started on our life journeys.  

We all make memories that resonate through the years. We all feel things in our hearts in different ways. We all have a diversity of ideas and are packed with emotions and we all perspire beads of sweat making an effort to be the best version of ourselves.

Even though we are different, we can still praise each other’s effort. Some make an effort to feed their five kids. Some make an effort to survive the mean streets that they live on. Some make an effort to simply have a voice in society. Some make an effort to overcome the ravages of cancer. But we all as a people make efforts to fight the battles of life and to overcome our own obstacles, regardless of what they are.

It is important to consider others and to not generalize or make assumptions. Don’t topple someone else’s confidence just because they live in a different bed of roses than you. Don’t make judgments because someone’s educational background was different than yours. And don’t tumble in the waves of measuring someone else’s work, monetary or life situation on yours. Sometimes it is good to strike up the conversation with hopes of building a new perspective, so we can root out bigotry, confront discrimination, fight for inclusivity, and stop the unsavory stereotypes of people who are different from us. Please check out my original song and video entitled, “People United.” Lyrics by me, Stephanie Jeannot. Music by Paul Garrod. Video edited and produced by Stephanie Jeannot.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKL0kS92s10&t=59s

At the end of the day, we should hold high esteem for each other because we are all people alike. Let us no longer look at people based on their age, class, color, gender, sexual orientation but as human beings as we challenge old ideologies and instead make provocative moves towards accepting responsibility for the progress of humanity. In my opinion it seems more pleasing to the ear to hear stories of shared humanity than struggling and fighting each other over the same nonsense because at the end of the day, we are all equal. We are the change that is needed in this world and we have the power to be in a position of influence to get everyone to see the world from a broader perspective.

After all, Ujima is all about building and maintaining the world together and to make our Brother's and sister's problems, our problems and to solve them together. Happy Kwanzaa!

From Umoja to Imani, may all the blessings of Kwanzaa be yours.

R is For Relflecting on 2018

It’s the end of the year and there is no denying that in just a couple of days, 2019 will officially launch. As the days wind down and before we come to the collective conclusion of the year at hand, I thought it would be cool to reflect on 2018 as a way to celebrate the small little wins.

Is it me or have the days run out of patience as they seem to go by faster and faster the older I get?

It feels like yesterday when we were all singing the Prince Anthem, “1999” and coming into the year 2000 and now it is about to be 2019. Am I the only one who feels moment by moment crying out for my attention only for the experience to speed on by at breakneck speeds? I will say that I have been wearing my seatbelt, but I can’t help but to feel the whiplash of time that keeps ticking. But thank God I can feel it because there are many who have not made it to this point and to be here in the land of the living, still, is a blessing that I can own up to.

2018

In 2018, New York had one of the chilliest and longest winters I can ever remember. As the cold slipped out of the year’s clutches, the warm weather harnessed feelings of jumping into the ocean’s waters more than I’d ever been motivated to feel the sand under my feet on hot summer nights in my whole life.

Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School Small Band

Once the latest school year was set in motion, it’s been working hard toward constant building and guiding the next generation of musically creative, young singers beyond the gates of their high school days and into their lushly orchestrated futures. Hopefully in their tomorrow, they will make a mark on the world with their aural charisma when you will bop your heads to their music echoing through your ears someday. They definitely have enormous potential.

With my mentor, Wayne Holmes

There were days where I harnessed melancholy moments where I delved deep into the heartfelt blues that made me want to cry me a river and I felt stripped bare emotionally. 

I lost a few people that were close to me including my mentor, Wayne Holmes, who was willing to share his mark of genius with me while he was alive. He pushed me into singing and helped to break me out of my shell. Losing him and the others that affected my life that went on to be with the Lord, felt like needle sharp thorns piercing at my heart. 

I used my gift of singing far into the night on many of the days I was graced to see; some days even the point of exhaustion. But I carried on with this level of ambition and spunk that has not left me yet. If you ever listened to me sing or were witness to a live performance, then you heard the sound of striving. Even when I felt intimidated by the roaring stadium sized collections of critics and naysayers, I still had faith in my own story because I know who I am and I have passion as deep as a river that makes me sparkle with a burst of energy and enthusiasm whenever a mic is in my hand.

2018 Dr Mary Umolu Jazzy Jazz Festival

How blessed I am that God opened doors to opportunities to sing on stages this year that I never thought I would see like with the New Rochelle Jazz Orchestra or at Citifield where I got to dance with and sing to John Starks or having the opportunity to remake the old Whitney Houston classic, “Love Will Save the Day,” and seeing my name on a vinyl record for the first time. You can check out the tune here: 

These were some of the many pieces de resistance of my 2018.

Some days I experienced dramatic bursts of aggravation because of all the pressures I felt from my own impatience with petty little things and acknowledged stubbornness that often seemed to go on autopilot. Back in the days, I would get liquored up to soothe my troubles, but I can crackle with excitement that on January 1, 2019, I will be five years alcohol-free because of a resolution I made back when 2014 kicked into high gear.  Hopefully I can do the same in the coming year as I attempt once again to rekindle a healthier lifestyle habit, on purpose.

First Sunset of 2018

And then there were times throughout 2018 where earnest expressions of joy, enthusiasm and love bloomed like a wildflower. But there was always hope peering from behind the door that gave me a blast of energy to link to the reality of it all and I am most thankful for the improvisational spirits of all those who were willing to dream right alongside me.  

As I recount my experiences, there were more good than bad, and I am thankful for it all. And as we go onto greater things in the coming 2019, all I can say is that I hope it is colorful, lively and luminous. I have an optimistic outlook and look forward to seizing the days of the new year as they come. I also hope to work towards improving myself consistently so I can build more quality into my own being which will require round the clock care which I hope I can maintain so I can experience the distant rewards before me.

I can’t believe that the year has come and gone so quickly, but before the sun of 2018 descends, I wish to you, immeasurable joy in the new year. I hope it greets you with its charming personality and keeps you feeling spiritually uplifted until the morning light of 2020. 

Savor every blessing as the year rolls along. I hope you accomplish many things and are so busy climbing up the ladder that you are able to not dwell too much on the daily frustrations or the temper of the times. Enjoy the confines of 2019.

Q is For the Quintessential Moment of a Queen Ushering Her Quillionth Day In

“Speak life into your vision by dressing for the vision”

– Valorie Burton

I have been on this earth for about a quintillion of days and just thinking back is almost like looking at picture after picture over my experiences that laid the groundwork to this moment.

I can’t say that I have treated every moment with gentle care. Some days I fell totally short of being in control of my responses to the world around me. I won’t claim that I had to hurdle over many hardships, but the foolish mistakes that I was able to overcome gave me all the ambition in the world to continue on this interesting journey, one step at a time, with my head up.

I was raised around a circle of strong women. Seeing my mother and two sisters in action always filled me with hope. I knew that I’d one day root out of the dirt of my parent’s little garden with much creativity because of them.

I loved music ever since I saw Michael Jackson moon-walking across the television. I got so excited that the orange juice I had in my sippy cup jumped out of the container into the television my mother had propped in front of us. 

He knew how to croon a tune from the heart. Him and many other artists gave me a good dose of feeling and I continued to listen out of love.

Whitney Houston made me want to sing to the four corners of any room I was in at the loudness of the music that was playing on my little boombox. I guess that is why today I can sing so loud, I don’t really need a microphone to reach anyone in a room that could even seat about 5500 people.

I used to love New Kids on the Block and started collecting their trading cards to share with my elementary school friends that loved them just the same. I knew every song they had, watched their videos on VHS tapes my parents got me and could sing all their lyrics word for word. I even had their poster on my wall.

The same happened when I started to like Basketball in high school. I still get chills reminiscing over the exciting games I used to watch the NY Knicks play. That was my team. Watching them made me feel good; especially John Starks. The more I watched, the more he became my favorite bball player. 

He had this loose, flexible style when he played. He would sweep down the court like a tornado and make the most incredible perimeter shots and I loved that. But I won’t lie, he was a great player but was was kind of good to look at too. 

So good that I started collecting basketball cards and had a poster of him on my wall dunking over Michael Jordan. I hoped one day to meet him in person and never thought that quenchable moment would ever come to satisfy my hunger for it.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege and honor of performing with the Bartlett Contemporaries at Pat La Frieda’s Chop House at Citifield in Flushing, NY. It was a cool night in a great place with some of the most beautiful people. 

The night like any other night where live music is involved, took on a life of its own. Music cut through the silence and the band played to a room of people who were receptive, singing along and dancing.  I always have fun when playing with this band because they really enjoy doing what they do and get crazy; so crazy that they don't want to stop. Just play and play and play on. 

I felt really positive that night because I was about to usher in to the 2020^th chapter of my life the next week and it left me with this mature and powerful aura. So positive, that I decided to wear these quippy four-inch heels which I never do because, I’m getting old and my knees can’t take it. LOL! But that night, I did.  I guess it’s a Queen thing. I used to dream about wearing heels and twitching with this confidence like my mom used to do. I was feeling the 2020 coming over me and it felt quite Queenly. 

That’s when it happened. John Starks walked across the room and my eyes couldn’t help but wander behind him as he walked past us to the other side of the room and I hadn't seen him again. But then as the night went on, there he was standing at the bar, watching us musically do our thing. That is when the band leader Carl Bartlett Sr said, let’s do Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.” 

That is a song I really love, and I thought to myself, why not walk over to him and say hello. And I did. While Carl Bartlett Jr quadrated to the beat with his saxophone solo, I asked John Starks to dance and there we were on the dance floor in the midst of my song and I got to sing to him and everything.

My voice rang with confidence while my favorite basketball player from childhood was dancing in my arms and I was tall enough to talk to this 6 ft 2-inch man that I had admired since I was a teenager.

 If anything, to say that 2018 was a good year for me, that moment was the quintessential. My hope went from being propped in front of my television watching him through a tube from the confines of my bedroom to in real time where the opportunity presented itself to actually say hello in person. I couldn’t help but to capture the moment and to frame the keepsake for my mantle.You can check out the full video on YouTube here if you are interested: https://youtu.be/dqf-BVutH2w

I laugh it off now, but I never thought I’d feel nervous meeting someone famous but during our little exchange, I felt like I was back in my little high school uniform and was almost too shy to formulate my request. But thank God I rose above my fear though because that earth moving moment is a moment that I’ll never forget. Still brings me chills now. It may have been just a dance, but the memory will forever remain in the clutches of my heart. 

Perhaps, it was the heels!

P is for Perhaps My Favorite Thing of All in 2018 Was . . .

I tell you, 2018 has been an interesting year. Thank God I can actually say that I was blessed to see it.



It took a plethora of ups and downs to get to this moment and time but, to be able to say that I am

here presently in the moment, once again to almost experience the end of another year, it is nice to

be able to acknowledge my favorite thing of all in 2018.

I walked into my 40th year fabulously with music and friends and family and loved ones and smiles,

laughter, and joy all around me. Not everyone has the opportunity but God kept me and that is

something that I do not take lightly.


So for all the beautiful people who have touched my life and has been a part of what I claim as true

inspiration, I honor you and thank you and wish you love and happiness in all that you do.


I have seen a lot in my 40 years and I can say, not all of them were the best decisions but to be able

to say, I have survived the turbulence and the sad moments because there was a balance of

so many happy moments that I can say, I have been blessed and I know it.


And with that in mind, I dedicate to you a rendition of one of my favorite songs and the tune that

made me want to sing when I saw my favorite movie, The Sound of Music as a kid and I saw Julie

Andrews singing the Rogers & Hammerstein tune "My Favorite Things."  If it had not been for that

moment, I probably would have never started singing or most likely would have never been so into

music and a vocalist who loves to sing more than eat today; and I'm a foodie so that means a lot.


This song was performed at the Creative Jazz Organization's Jazz Night where they presented a night

of music with the Lon Ivey Band which I had the opportunity of being the featured vocalist. The song

was performed at the American Legion Post 483 in Rosedale, NY.


I am filled with joy anytime I get to sing but this one especially because it is one of my favorite

songs. Hopefully it will created a smile in your heart as well.  You can check it out

here: https://youtu.be/pTLejHRZKZ0

Much Love and Many Blessings!