A Very Musical Review of 2017

“Enthusiasm is the fertilizer that will

ensure rapid growth as well as permanency”

(Napoleon Hill)

I have to say that 2017 was a great year. There were more good times than bad times. I was driven to handle life and was able to break out of my comfort zone on many occasions. I am excited for the best that is yet to come. 

But before I clear the path for 2018, I want to rewind and share highlights that helped to make 2017 refreshing with a slew of detailed photos and honest-straight forward passages about the moments of the year that lead to this day.

January

It was a great month. As usual I did what I love to do best in the eclectic culture that we live in. But it became even more exciting when I started to work with purpose on my second album project and brought some of my lyrical ideas to life in producer Paul Garrod’s studio in Connecticut. 

Fast-forward to today and we have a project together entitled We Are People United which features 13 studio songs of which I wrote the lyrics and he wrote the music. You can check it out here: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/stephaniejeannot1

February
The idea of creating a music video for my song “Enjoy Life,” so that I can capture a visual of it to make it more than just a song, lead to a series of conversations on how to add my

dramatic side effectively to a moving picture. Thankful to Stuart Thomas and Jazz E Matt, (two great artists from New York City I might add, who you should definitely check out if you get the chance) helped me to really make the refreshingly honest effort to make my vision come true. They held up the camera for me in the arctic chill of a Brooklyn winter by the East River. And they went with me to the skating ring and did what they do to help me to do what I wanted to do and it was great. And then the music video to "Enjoy Life" was born. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/alV2ULnr9z8

March

I have been writing songs forever but March 2017 was the first time in my life that I ever performed an entire show of all original music. They say the possibilities are endless if you simply ask. Who knew it was true? No one has to carry the burden of wanting to do something so bad that it has to hurt because no man is an Island. There are people who are presently in your life who can help you fly free if you take the chance of asking. Especially if it is something that will help you optimize your dream. Asking is an achievable way of getting it done. 

And so, I thank my awesome band, the JNote Band for having my back and for being there for all the rehearsals and then for the shows and doing the music thing that you do so awesomely. Richie Johnson, Herb Lewis, Jazz E Matt, Dalthannette Munlin, Mark Payne, Prrrl, Phillip Smith, I could not have done it without you all. You make me believe that my songs are worth being more than just tightly guarded secrets but something that people should hear and you help me to find peace with myself. I had been saving all my love for that one moment for a long time. You make me want to dare pass the limits. Such a blessing to have you all in my life. Thank you!

April

Here was the second opportunity to do an original showcase and here again we had the band right there in my corner. Together we performed at the Springfield Stage Festival and it was awesome. 

Jazz E Matt performed three songs and then I did three songs. It was a nice day and we had fun. Thankful to Mark Payne for affording to me the opportunity of sharing my music at this wonderful event.

May

Of all the amazing things to dive into, applying my purpose to the oases of Siberia seemed

to be the ingredient that makes me smile without wanting to cease. 

Selfie in the Irkutsk Philharmonic with Dr Jazz Band in Siberia

But the more I appraise the situation, I would say that the one thing that made the most difference in my life was when I realized that I had been soaking up the midnight sun. 

It broke through the complacency of common sense because it didn’t make sense at all. I walked out of my gig in Arkhangelsk with the sun beaming before my eyes and my friends there saying okay have a good sleep. I’m thinking to myself, sleep and had to ask the current time. When they said 10:30 PM and I saw the sun out as if it were mid-afternoon, God’s design of time and space became that much more amazing to me. 

In the midst of the Aerora Borealis

I finally walked through the threshold I was bound to cross and that was the moment my French teacher had been telling me about all along, right before my eyes; an amazing site to have seen. Thankful to Jeff Edelman for the awesome opportunity of seeing it and sharing my talents there.

June

My jazz group and I had the opportunity of performing live at the Fort Hamilton Senior Center where I met some of the most amazing tap dancers on this planet. 

These beautiful elder queens practice their craft. They work hard, devote time to perfecting their art and are such lovely people. 

Seeing them made me put some thought into the idea that if these elderly people are stepping out with such force and attitude at their age, there should be nothing stopping me at mine. Check out their awesome dancing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GEmH5QhHX0

They filled my heart with a rhythm of love and respect for them that has not yet ceased. Thankful to have met them and to have played some great music there for them where I first saw them dance with Brett Benteler, Wayne Holmes, Herb Lewis and Napoleon Revels-Bey. Thankful to the NYC Parks Department for having us. 

July

The summer always seems to add a decorative effect to a year and 2017 was no different. If you can get through the first few months of the year without being too harried but instead with a smile and eagerness to carry on, then you know that you are moving forward with great fighting strength. Summer seems like the perfect time to put the pieces of your life back together and it was great to connect again with friends and family that I had not seen in years. 

On the other side of those moments, performing at Part one of Eric Frazier’s annual Fort

Photo by Walter Taylor

Greene Park Jazz Festival in the intense summer heat of July was awesome. I love singing and this annual event is always a great time to celebrate the art of jazz and music with my fellow musicians. 

But my favorite from July was the wonderful family vacation we took at the Lake George RV Park and then our trek up to Vermont. 

I can say being with family and enjoying each other’s time and company was as beautiful as Origami art. These were very rejuvenating moments for me as it caused the reunion of some of the broken parts that were inside of me that only family time can algebraically put back together; we had not done anything like that in a very long time. Our family vacation was my harness of innovation.

August

Who said you can’t lose sight of reality when you are in such a place of excitement. It is not every day that I am on the brink of a new endeavor and exploring the emotional rawness of a place that is totally fresh to my mind. But to have been able to leisurely stroll through the neighborhoods of Minsk, Belarus was so cool and different. 

And then to have been able to sing at the Jazz at the Lake festival in Minsk with the fresh scent of the sea enhancing the experience was amazing. I met so many amazing artists. But top that all off, to have had the opportunity to share my gift and original music there was a life altering experience and I am so thankful for it all.

September

The weather was crisp and ideal for outdoor dancing and there I was singing at part two of Eric Frazier’s Fort Greene Park Jazz Festival and it was awesome. I dressed more sophisiticatedly than I am used to and I felt sexy for the first time in a long time. 

Photo by EJ Haughton

But at the heart of it all, sharing my original song “Wherever You Are” right there in my cosmopolitan hometown’s outdoor festival for the first time was amazing. If you’d like, please check out the tune “Wherever You Are” here: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/stephaniejeannot3 

The crowd met me with immeasurable kindness as I got into the nitty gritty of my own tune. I did not expect to generate their attention. Who knew they’d enjoy it? To have seen that with mine own eyes makes me hungry for more. I know that my purpose is to put my best foot forward with my original music and the trajectory of my 2018 will be the year for exploring better solutions to do that.

October

Photo by Eric Frazier

They say somebody is always watching and that is usually something I try to gain when I do live performances. But what launched a revolution in my life was seeing my father in the audience as I performed with my jazz trio, (Brett Benteler, Danny Dalelio and Napoleon Revels-Bey) at Kitchen 21 in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. 

My father of all people! I usually do whatever is genuine to try to get him out. I am not easily discouraged but all the excuses he had gave me in the past for why he couldn’t come all changed when I looked into the crowd and saw the awesome view of his face, all smiles and with his camera in his hand trying to record his daughter on the set, living in the character of a jazz vocalist. 

What a way to bounce back from being inundated with questions to having deep enjoyment and satisfaction. I could definitely get used to the weight of his presence. Felt great!

November

A friend of mine, fellow poet Ras Osagyefo who years ago helped me to produce and host a Jazz Poetry event that I had been very interested in putting together, had a great event of

his own and asked me to be a part of it and sing. 

This was the first time I had shared some of the new songs off of my new project, We Are People United,in a public forum. But what I loved the most was finding out that Sam Cooke wrote a song which he also sang, that he considered to be the black national anthem that he entitled, “A Change is Gonna Come.” To know this piece of information and to have been able to sing this anthem for the first time was very encouraging. I invite you to check out my live performance of this song at Osagyefo's event here: 

                         

Being a part of it, made me realize that knowledge is the bare minimum that you need for something to become a proprietary interest. I am interested in singing this anthem more and more because of its history. 

December

Photo by Laurence Sparks

It was my birthday and I wanted to celebrate in a special way. Bass player, Mark Payne, and I share the same birthday. I call him my twin. I wanted to take in our birthdays doing a showcase of only original music together. 

I found liberation in doing just that thanks to the help of one of my closest friends, Jazz E Matt, who deemed me worthy of putting his all out there for me. And I am thankful to the JNote Band who had my back in such an amazing way to do what I wanted to do in that fluorescent hall where we moved with forced together and touched the sky. 

Thank you Chynaah Doll, Just Nico, Prrrl, Mark Payne, and Richie Johnson. You helped me explore every single avenue of my blue velvet dream of being who I am; a singer who writes songs and performs them live as an artist. The momentum is still going strong. Whenever you guys are on stage, you make me feel perfectly at home and I weep with joy because of that. Thank you all for your collaborative spirits. You can check out a piece of our live performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HYbEAPQ-h8

The other thing that settled into my bones and gave me inspiration was performing at a real jazz club in New York City for the first time with my quartet (Mike Benjamin, Danny Dalelio, Herb Lewis, Napoleon Revels-Bey). It was almost as if God was getting a fresh start of putting a gift in my hands for Christmas because the call came and the event happened just a few days before the actual holiday. That was pretty epic for me. 

Photo by David A Powell

The setting of the jazz club was perfect for just sitting back and relaxing into who you are. The stage was great and the acoustics in the room was just right for stacking all the harmonies of the instrumentation. 

Of the slew of all the holiday parties that I was blessed to be a part of, this was the one that made the difference. Not really a holiday party at all but, I did include four songs for the holiday in my repertoire because I am a big lover of Christmas carols. I invite check out a clip from our live performance here: https://youtu.be/tmeUs4cwxXg

The experience left me feeling so high and I am thankful to the wonderful musicians for flowing with me on this flight and for also braving the cold to be there because it was freezing and the cold cut like a razor.

Conclusion

2017 made me realize that there are so many possibilities worth exploring. Many of the moments were soul stirring. I now have a very clear idea of my purpose, how I want to move into the year 2018 and I am compelled to pull through with this unwithering hope. 

Photo by Gardener Anderson

Here I am ready to walk on the wild side of the frigid winter months of the new year that is upon us. I plan to get to work as soon as possible making it the best year yet. That you may live your most extraordinary life in 2018. Happy New Year to you and to yours. 

Wow! Looking Back Over 2017. Can't Believe The Year Almost Over.

Every week when I start to plan how I will go about putting together a new episode for my radio show Jazz on the JNote, I tend to look up birth dates or interesting facts about the giants of jazz that surround the air date of my show so that when Sunday at 7PM EST comes, theenglishconnectionmedia.com has a show that I actually put my whole heart into. 

So it was no different this morning when I started doing research so that I could put together an outline of what I planned to do for this Sunday’s and as I looked at the calendar to jot down the date on which my next episode would air, it became a tear-jerking reminder that 2017 is almost over. This Sunday will be October 1^st.

The stores are already selling Halloween candy and are already promoting for the coming winter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 2017 is flying and I can’t believe it is almost over.

2017

This year has been an evolving educational journey for me. I thank God for all the days that he woke me up with a proper frame of mind. Though we tend to make our new year’s resolutions and plans, I still try to debunk the mystery around how the days somehow simply manifest themselves. So many different nuances and color were added to the budding little old me that had me feeling so connected to his nature and many of them were unplanned. I guess you just have to be ready to embrace each moment as it is being presented because you never know how time will unravel itself even if you do plan your calendar on how you want things to go. But, to have found myself in so many atmospheres of appreciation and exchange has left me feeling mingled with joy. 

The photo above is a classic example of this. Nine months and nine separate events from each of the months that have come and gone in 2017 like for instance, filming a video for my song "Enjoy Life" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alV2ULnr9z8) , singing at the Irkutsk Philharmonic in Siberia, and for the first time ever in my life, performing a set of just original music which I wrote, that made a big difference in the person I am becoming. Other things that excited me were the trip to Vermont that I was dying to take which was on my summer bucket-list, exploring Jim's Vineyard again and getting to share some of my original tunes at his amazing summer bash, recording new songs for a forthcoming project that I am really excited about, meeting some of the most beautiful tap dancers in Brooklyn and also embracing their classes and, coming back into a new academic year and feeling a little bit more confident to share information that I didn't know that I had to share on the art of singing and stage performance with some really amazing teenagers. So, if you ever see me posting about theoretical things about singing as in for instance practicing your craft or being prepared for performances, a lot of times, it is directed at them. 

2017 had it its good days and bad days. But the good days outweighed the bad and that is always something to feel positive about. I guess when the ninth month of a year comes to an end, it is okay to start thinking about melting away the limits of the year to come. I have 2018 etched in my mind and all I can do is hope to confront it appropriately. Yet, the year is not over with October, November and December set to make their appearance soon in which there is still a wealth of things to see and do. 


One thing is for sure though; 2017 will leave a lasting impact on me and will forever be absorbed in my memory. For all the silver landscapes, cringe-worthy moments, sparkles added to the routine of my days, progress from taking baby steps to taking more giant steps toward worthy pursuits, squeezing some of the ambiguity out of my life, and soaking up knowledge about the world and the person in me that I am discovering more and more each day, I am thankful.

What’s left? What’s left is to perfect who I am as we embrace the forthcoming year. Though I accept all my layers as they are, there is definitely some tweaking worth the resolve; I’ll admit that. Nothing wrong with change; no matter how you slice it.  I mean, in all honesty, we are all an amalgamation of years of experimentation on our own selves. We are presently wading in the deep waters of the 2017 version of who we are. But I trust that I'll be better than I am in the coming year. 

For me, I can say, it's time to de-clutter and to make room for the 2018 version of me. Are you ready? 

New Year New Mantra for 2017

“My new year’s commitment is

to be the best that I can be

mentally, physically and spiritually.”

(Ava DuVernay)

What an  awesome 

quote to inspire

positive energy to 

saunter into your 

new year.  

Makes you think  in a very motivating way doesn’t it? 

YES

- I can inspire!

- I can have victory!

- I can be successful and make money
 
doing what I love to do!

- I can overcome the past!

- I can transform minds to believe in me 

and in the God in me!

- And I will make a tireless effort to grow 

and progress into a better version of me;

the 2017 edition.

Let’s give a round of applause for 2017 while it still has time to captivate those still with breath. 

Cheers to the first week of the new year. Make it a truly enjoyable and a thoroughly productive one. Here's some music to inspire your Breakthrough in this here year. 

Breakthrough is an inspirational original tune with lyrics by Stephanie Jeannot 

https://youtu.be/9BW1v51ypXw

So what is your new years resolution for 2017? Care to share? Maybe I can be inspired by yours. Whatever it is, I hope that it comes with ease for you to meet that commitment. 

Thank you for reading my blogpost! 

I Am Happy Doing What I Do!

“When I'm singing, I'm happy.

I'm doing what I can do 

and this is my contribution to life”

(Anita O’Day).

I think it is better to do what you truly love to do than to live with regrets of should’ve would’ve could’ve. It becomes hard to forget all the chances we never took and the opportunities we allowed to slip by.

I say, if something stays up in your mind and you love to do it, then do it. Sure, we must take cautionary views because we do not know what tomorrow will bring, but I think it is better to live through the day with chances being taken at doing something that is in your heart.

Your journey may bring you to a solitary state if it is not something that your family or peers agree with. Many people suffer the same, believing that they should make everybody else happy by doing what is expected of you by others. Instead of following through on your own dreams, they may make you feel that you have to fit into their plans for you somehow.

But a new year is about to start. A new era of going the extra mile to experience genuine smiles and less time seeing the stars lose their glitter.

Time to settle on the song and dance that makes you feel good. Time to free your mind of

doubts and dance in heaven. Time to apply your own ingenuity into the world without fearing it. Time to go to bed with dreams and wake up with achievements.

If you keep in mind that truth that everybody is wired different, you will realize that it is okay to have different thoughts for your now and tomorrow than your culture or tradition may have destined for you. Time to walk more on faith. Time to clear the path for more. Get your more and be you because there is nothing wrong with being you-tiful. 

I think 2017 is going to be a great year. How about you?

Disclaimer: This post was inspired by a writing prompt by MamaKat blog to write based on a favorite quote. 

In the midst of  listening to an Anita O'Day music collection, I came across that quote and the rest is history.