Happy Birthday to Two of My Favorite Singers: Mariah Carey & Sarah Vaughan

Two of my favorite singers in the world share the same birthday. There has to be some irony in that!

Both put their entire body and soul into everything they sang and made me want to work hard to not only sing songs I love, but to understand some of the methodologies and theories behind music and I am thankful for that.

One of the two is Mariah Carey. She came into my life when I was in the fifth grade and I became mesmerized with her instrument. At one point in my life, my entire repertoire was comprised of Mariah Carey songs. I love her voice and her music. The second is Sarah Vaughan. Her timbre is amazing, and she just has this incredible way with her voice. My Ipod currently has more Sarah Vaughan tunes in it than any other artist and she is who I listen to the most. Happy birthday to Mariah Carey and to Sarah Vaughan.

Stephanie Jeannot as Sarah Vaughan

Earlier this month, I wrote a short one-act play which I entitled “And Then There Were the Ladies of Jazz” which went into production as a women’s History Month tribute at the Roosevelt Public Library in Roosevelt, NY. I played the role of both Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan which for me was wonderful because I was happy to be able to honor two jazz vocalist who I absolutely love while also sharing some historical data with the crowd before me that I felt was important for people to know; especially for those who did not know about the identities of these international women in jazz and how their roles in music played a role in the racial order or the time.

I want to share a short video clip from the show, where I rendered a cover of the song that Sarah Vaughan sang which was somewhat of the Genesis to her career entitled "Body & Soul" which she sung and won the Amateur Night at the Apollo contest and became who the world came to know as The Divine One. Hopefully you will watch it and enjoy what you hear as much as I enjoyed embracing it on stage with Charles Bartlett on trumpet, Daniel Dalelio on piano, Herb Lewis on Saxophone, Napoleon Revels-Bey on drums and Rachiim Sahu on bass.  

Thank you so much for checking out my blogpost. Have a phenomenal day!

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.