I am passionate about writing
and whenever I get the chance to do it, I try to punctuate my time with
meaningful writing. I like to flex my words with a pen and add it to a blank
page and create things whether it is poetry, song or whatever writing thing
comes to play. In fact, poetry has been a part of my quiddity even before I
started writing songs.
Often times my mind is thick
with thoughts and ideas, and in my own unique way, I erupt into verse. It restores
me back to life and I am ready to take on the world wholeheartedly.
I must show gratitude to my
sistah gurl, Chynah, who did not see it as robbery to use her platform to extend
kindness towards me. She not only mentioned my poetry collection, And Then
There Was the Music: Poetry and an Essay, but she read two of my poems, “The
Universal Language” and “Make War Not Music” to her large, receptive audience.
I spent my entire summer this year in the Midwest;
particularly in Illinois. Elk Grove is a
city in Illinois with about a million and two parks and walk/bike paths.
My music writing partner and I would stroll down many of
those paths there and I am big on pictures and so there was always a picture or two
of the beautiful landscape images being taken as we walked, talked and enjoyed the beauty of mother nature.
I have grown accustomed to long-distance walking with my
first time being a 10.5 walk on purpose from Midtown Manhattan to Northwest Brooklyn.
It came as a natural thing to experience the natural hills and peaks of all
terrain walking; especially since I started to do the walk about once a week. Yet
still, it did not truly prepare me for my first experience with hiking.
Hiking
I recently did a day hike over the Torne Mountain Loop of
the Norvin Green State Forest in Bloomingdale, NJ. It was different. It was
intense. It was tiring.
I didn’t realize how hard it was to walk uphill; especially
since almost everywhere I go is by motor vehicle. The advantage of walking is
to be in the midst of peacefulness and to also burn some calories. Hiking is a
great way to exercise.
So, the mountain trail is about an hour drive from Brooklyn,
NY to get to that mountainous region of New Jersey. Some people do it recreationally
for pleasure and then there are others who do it to burn some good old
calories. I did it because I have seen pictures and videos of some of my
colleagues who have been hiking and they looked pretty interesting. I can see
why many may see hiking as a spiritual quest to reignite the flames that burn the
inspiration within. The climbing, risk and
challenges associated with hiking as well as the views of the beautiful
landscapes along the 1.5 mile trail is quite rewarding.
I thought it was pretty cool that my friend’s phone was furnished
with a digital map that actually could tell us exactly where we were along the
Torne Mountain Loop and there were blue markers along the journey to help us to
follow the path from beginning to end which is a great idea so that you do not
get lost in those woods.
If I had any tips to give they would be:
1. Wear sturdy boots not sneakers. I wore my sneakers and
the many rocks can pierce holes into them. Though you will be able to get through
a moderate mountain trail with sneakers on, your best foot support will be like
a pair of thick boots with strong soles.
2. It is an intense workout and so keep in mind that you
will sweat and depending on the season when you go, you want to dress appropriately.
3. Definitely carry a first aid kit because you never know.
You might fall. You might step on something or scrape your skin and need to
apply a band aid or alcohol to it. And with that in mind, it probably would be better to go with someone so you could have each other just in case. I definitely would not trail it by myself.
4. I was told to climb the rocks like they are stairs and
going uphill, it seemed right. The going downhill was the hard part and so, you
have to be careful and focus so that you do not get hurt meaning, you cannot
have your phone in your hand because you will need your hands to climb down
sometimes.
5. I was also told that drinking water while climbing uphill
could make the experience a little bit harder. So, I would say, bring your
water and when you have a chance to take a pause, then drink your water. But
definitely not before you start.
Overall, I enjoyed it. It was challenging but interesting.
It was an intense workout, but one that my body could use. I would definitely
go again.
Students often work around the clock to claim success. It is their way of being in control of the outcome of their story. Doing well at their studies gives students a clear path to the stars and so, they pursue their education with diligence and devotion.
I have to give it to those students who were engaged in the great struggle of learning virtually; especially who were on the verge of becoming a class of 2020 graduate. Their
story is one I would consider as being unique because they had to deal with the
challenge of doing everything required to take off to the sky, online.
Thinking about that and so many of the students I had worked with who were about to advance to the next chapter of their journey made me remember life and how it felt to finally get to the last page of that part of my story. And I remembered all the first-hand exposure
and practice I did to make sure I had all the tools I needed to be able to walk
down the aisle with tears of joy rolling down my cheeks, to actually accept my
certificate of completion.
Thoughts of this ran through my mind when my sister sent me her intelligent and handsome son’s graduation picture. I looked at it and it made me want to dabble into a bit of creative expression while my excitement for his accomplishment was fresh in my mind. I’d say that I
went plowing full speed ahead and then not shortly after that, a song was born.
It is called “Moving Forward.”
It is a song to celebrate the achievements of the students who put their all
into studying from the confines of home during the stressful time of the
pandemic and quarantine and were able to succeed. It is dedicated to all those
who were able to leverage the experience of the quietude and found success.
I felt such a feeling of elation for them that music came pouring out the well of my eyes; especially for my students and for my nephew. Please check out the song here: https://youtu.be/cCqQLst99tM
I created the drum track and then the piano overlay and added stacks of vocal harmonies to it and then sent the song to my friend John Mueller in Chicago, IL, who added a funky bass line and moving guitar strums to it. The song was completed just in time for me to share it with my nephew on the day of his graduation.
I’m so very inspired by their strength; that even through the obstacles, they did it.
Congratulations to the class of 2020. Job well done.
My hearts unfolds like a
flower when I get the opportunity to experience the culture of jazz.
I was squealing
with delight at the idea of celebrating nature’s abundance of simple joys. What was being celebrated?
Black history.
Jazz history.
The history of jazz dance.
The event was hosted by the
Harlem Swing Dance Society and was held at the Pelham Fritz Recreational Center
in Harlem, NY and featured me and my band, Stephanie Jeannot’s Savoy Four Band.
Please check out the mini clip
of the event that was held here:
https://youtu.be/NmgnLuWKMBI
The ambiance was great there in
that Harlem venue located at Mount Morris Park. The art on the walls gave an
appeal that just melted my heart.
I walked in and saw dancers dancing with an
instructor teaching them a bit of jazz dance from its history at the Savoy
Ballroom where the lindy hop was first introduced. I always enjoy these events
because of the air of knowledge and jazz that I am able to breathe in while
history is being shared until the band is ready to play the music to set the
dancers up on a rhythmic fleet.
An eclectic array of standards
was hoisted into the air met by the swinging dancers on the floor who met our
sounds with energetic body movements. We played finger snapping rhythms,
evocative classics, and modernized versions of antiquated songs. The instrumentalists
did not shy away from improvising solos or showcasing their unique flavor which
made it easy for me to be drawn in by their sounds to sing before the host of
people rhythmically propelled to dance to the music. They danced to throbbing
beats played by Napoleon Revels-Bey who approached the counter rhythms with
brushes of purposeful soulfulness. They bopped to the thumping of the technical
virtuosity of Hill Greene. They hammered their heels to the floor to the
variety of tinkling sound played by pianist Danny Dalelio and I sang to the twists
and turns of their music as the music gave a cultural salute to the sounds they
played.
I was suddenly flooded with
memories of earlier times when purveyors of the music would gather dressed to
the nines to share their artistic expression. I thought of artists like Billie
Holiday, Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie,
Thelonious Monk and Max Roach. Music was definitely their vehicle for
improvisation whether it was playing, singing or dancing to it because music is
all about self-expression and sharing. They
were always draped in the finest of threads and communicating to the audience
with their hearts full of music. It was a fertile harmonic ground for joy to be
sprung. It was the world’s most glamorous atmosphere and jazz history at its
best. How could one not absorb the cultural influences and be inspired by those
troubadours of yesteryear who made great triumphs with their music?
With each deep-throated growl,
the onlookers danced and danced and danced.
That day still remains imprisoned
in the walls of my heart. I have a growing admiration for the culture of jazz
which makes my heart skip a beat more and more each time I dabble into it. Music
infuses me enthusiasm and makes me feel alive. And so, I have grown this
insatiable hunger to listen and to learn and to sing and to dance and to just
take in music as much as I can; because it is my first love and because I have
a growing appetite for it.
The more I sing, the more it calms my rage. Thankful
for every musical opportunity and for the beautiful gift of song that God
planted in me when he fearfully and wonderfully created me.
I am a singer and songwriter who loves in Brooklyn, NY. I have been writing songs for a very long time. My writing journey started with poetry and since then, I have found myself dabbling in other genres of writing and songwriting seems to have become one of those things I fully immerse myself into the most. My father surprised me the other day by telling me that he had been enjoying watching my YouTube Channel and that my original song that I penned, "Wherever You Are" is superb.
"Wherever You Are" is track number 5 off of my first ever musical release entitled Finally JNote. All lyrics, music, and vocals on the original tune are by Stephanie Jeannot and can be found on CDbaby if you are interested!
It was so unexpected to hear such a warm compliment that just inspired me in so many ways; especially coming from my dad. What a blessing to have heard it! It is weird but compliments coming from my parents when my music or anything that comes out of my spirit is concerned, still makes me feel like that was the one word of confidence I was waiting to hear to know that I am doing alright! As I think about that, I wonder about my younger cousin who a few days after Christmas committed suicide and left us in mourning. Maybe all he needed was a good word of confidence to feel like he was okay. But, one never knows and yet, it is still hard to comprehend what he might have been going through. Wherever you Are cuz, I hope that you have found peace with yourself. I did not expect people to enjoy "Wherever You Are" as much. This is the first song I have ever performed internationally and wherever I was singing it, I noticed people were singing along and it is always a pleasure to see people reacting to these lyrics. If you are interested in knowing the lyrics, you can check them out here: http://www.songlyrics.com/stephanie-jeannot/wherever-you-are-lyrics/#disqus_thread
I recently had the opportunity to perform this song with my band, The JNote Band, and as usual when performing with them, it was bursting with energy, great sound and a whole lot of fun. On bass was my twin brother, Mark Payne; I call him twin because we celebrate our birthdays on the same day. And on drums was Richie Johnson. On keys was Prrrl. On vocals we had Jazz E Matt, Chynnah Doll, Nico and me singing my lyrics to the song. The live music photograph from this performance was taken by Laurence Sparks. Our performance was at Shrine World Music Venue which is located in Harlem, NY.
I would love to hear what you think! Please leave me a comment, a good word, or even a song that you think might suit my voice that you think I should try. I always appreciate the idea of enhancing my awareness and knowledge about music. It was a pleasure convening with you today. Hope that we can do it again soon. God bless and thank you for stopping by my blog!
Hope that this year is filled with much joy and many, many blessings.
And maybe this could be the year that we connect on a higher level;
perhaps in a collabo of some sort.
That would be nice!
Wow! A new set of 265 days?
What are your plans for this brand new year? Any resolutions?
Whatever it is, I hope one of those many things on your to-do-list will include
checking out my Youtube Channel.
As we cluster together, I want
to invite you to see me in my essence. With my feet firmly planted on earth, I come to you in hope that you might take the time to water my seed of destiny a bit. May I invite you
to drift into the arms of my video feed on Youtube to watch at least one video+,
and hopefully subscribe to my channel at http://www.youtube.com/sj1and0 .
I think I have flourished a
lot since I put up my first video and it is great to see my own growth and transformation. I have original videos on there. I have cover songs performed in a live setting
on there and lots of other things. I have band videos on there.
Maybe I can get your undivided
attention for at least one minute and maybe you can take me at full value and
check me out. My Youtube channel is
sj1and0 and I not only post but also watch lots of cool videos as well. Let’s
vibe, if you don’t mind.
So! Are you on Youtube? I’d
love to catch a glimpse of who you are. What is your Youtube channel? Can we
follow each other? Hope so! Drop me your handle.
Alright then, hope that this
post invokes good thoughts that knock on the doorstep of your mind. Have a
great day. Peace and love everybody!
The art and love of crocheting
took root in my heart and grew into love about a decade ago when I was sick and
in bed with the mumps. I didn’t want to accept the truth that my perfect
attendance record was going to be tarnished suddenly because I was caught up in
the fire of an ailment. But it was becoming evident all around me that the
contagious thing that took over me, was going to leave me bed-ridden and
home until it withered away.
What was an over-active lady
supposed to do when so many tasks were clamoring for my attention while I was
forced to be in hearty accord with my bed? The answer; rest.
I tried. I slept. I lied in
bed with the television on. But I couldn’t alleviate this attachment to the
opinion that I needed to be doing something other than. And so, I found something to do to keep me active. One Skein At A Time
I took out a crochet needle
and started making hats. I saw an old coworker of mine getting crafty with a
needle one day and the idea of gauging and skeining gained enormous influence
over me. And so, she showed me the basics and thank God she did because as time
kept stealing past me as I lied feeling defeated by my sickness, I crocheted
and crocheted some more. The art of it enabled me to be at peace with where I
was at that moment in time.
Changing the Needle
Finally I got back on my feet
and wanted to test what I made amongst my friends and co-workers. Who knew that I would sell
so many of my hats that day that it would leave me convinced that I was supposed to be making hats. I started to enjoy the fruits of my labors even
more when I started vending my crafts at street fairs.
At one particular street fair,
a man approached me and told me that he wanted some hats for his store located
in Greenwich village. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn. He told
me he wanted fifty hats. I said that I could have them for him in a week or so.
He told me he wanted them by Friday.
For the next five days until the time of
our meeting, I sat up day and night, through my lunch breaks, on the buses and
trains and during every free moment I could find, and I crocheted. Friday came
and about an hour before our meeting time, I accomplished the fifty, only for
him to ask me for fifty more for the following Friday, which provided me with
additional time to adjust my sails and do what I was tasked to do and add signature tags to the new set of fifty that would hang in the Greenwich store's window display on West 8th Street.
I don’t crochet as much as I
used to anymore, though when the rain and snows take over the New York landscape, I
find myself on my couch skeining away. I’ve made hats. I've made bags. I've made baby booties. I've made bibs. I once made a queen-sized granny square blanket as a gift for my loved ones. I’ve made ornaments in
bulk for baby showers and bridal showers. I have crocheted scarves and dresses
and even teddy bears. But now with my same heavy hand that I write, it seems as
if carpel tunnel is somewhat taking over it with the pain my wrist is anchoring
to. But crocheting was a love of mine and still is which is why, I always did it with this joy in my heart that turned into love.
Crocheting Love Songs
Artwork by Ricardo Ricky Jean
When I write songs, I often
use my experiences to tumble into the meat of the work. Crocheting was a
passion and so it became the subject of a love song I wrote. The title of the
song is “Crocheted” and I moved through every stanza unrestrictedly over the music of Derrick Smith, with all
the aspects of the art of crocheting in mind and turned it into a love song;
one skein at a time. Please check out my song and video here: https://youtu.be/kjkGWjqJDvM
I had it all mapped out. I was
going to venture this new territory and skate my way to challenging my fear of
falling flat on my face. Confidently, I perched on a set of wheels beneath my
feet thinking, I got this. However, I was so inundated with fear that I hardly
wanted to walk with the skates on, though I had to in order to try skating for
real.
At first, it was a guided
situation. I was being pulled across the rink by the crutches of my friend’s
hands, pulling me to skate. I floated right along with him but, every so often,
I felt myself losing balance.
I decided that I could not let
my entire time be spent that way. I wanted to try it on my own. All the
possibilities of me skating on my own, were cooking. I got onto the rink by
myself, but if it weren’t for the guard rail, I would not have been able to get
on that slippery surface on my own, at all.
I looked at my friends dancing
and skating backwards and me, I was taking baby steps, holding on to the rail,
all around. I actually was able to go around the rink three times. I feared falling and thank God I didn’t fall on the rink. Where I did fall
was outside of the rink with skates on trying to walk down the little step down
they had to get to the locker area. I am not writhing in pain and ironically,
it was falling that fine-tuned my thinking and made me dust myself off, no
longer fear falling and made me decide to get onto the rink by myself and without
another’s assistance realizing that I am a masterpiece in progress.
I can’t believe that the
simple act of skating made me pay close attention to my posture when I am walking.
It made me feel okay with the speed of going slow so I could actually get
comfortable with the motions. I also learned that what we gain is also what we
lose. I gained confidence in trying and lost fear of falling and hurting
myself. How cool is that?
Are you someone who enjoys the
art of roller skating? If it is not the fun or the adventure, it is the music
that the deejay is spinning while people roll to his rhythms that drive my
interest. My latest video for my song, “Enjoy Life,” a dance tune with lyrics
by Stephanie Jeannot and music by Mike LeShore, is definitely, the type of song
that fits the mold of a song that you would hear at a skating rink. It is fast paced. It is danceable. It has a lot of energy and it is catchy. The video was
edited and produced by me, Stephanie Jeannot with the help of my dear friend Stuart Thomas who helped to record many of the scenes featured in this visual slide show of frames. I hope that you will take the time
to check out my creative videography project here: https://youtu.be/alV2ULnr9z8
Thank you for making my life,
that much more enjoyable. Have a pleasant week!
And remember the
truth that we become a little better every day as we go through remarkable
changes based on our experiences and that we have a harvest of kingdom fruit
awaiting us which we are perfectly suitable to dwell in.
“Storms make trees take deeper roots”
– Sharon Lechter
A tidal wave of
change takes place based on the vibration of thoughts we have about our own
selves. While other people’s negative thoughts can become contagious, make sure
to make the big, bold decisions to stay firmly rooted in believing in yourself.
“Depression is
destructive
while
self-confidence and faith are constructive.”
–
Sharon Lechter
When your faith
is spilling over, there is nothing that can knock you out of the soil. You
still stand tall and face the brightness of God’s unmatchable sun. Sparks of
possibility seem to never leave us because we are driven by the flames of
achievement of being blessed by another day.
Only God knows
what the next leg of the journey will bring but while we are headed there,
travel along your path with complete confidence that you have everything it
takes to move forward to what is ahead.
I invite you to check out a flashback of a performance I was so blessed to be a part of at Jacob Javitz Convention Center with the Medgar Evers Jazz Ensemble at the graduation ceremony for the 2013 college graduating class. I was experiencing a bunch of anxieties that day having lost my aunt to cancer the day before who left behind five kids under 18 years old. I was so sad about the situation because we were really close and I couldn't belive my little cousins were left without their mother and my uncle had to do whatever he could to handle it.
After singing before the crowd of 5500 people, I went home, cut all my hair off and started a whole different way of thinking about my life. Change I guess is a real thing when death plays a part. At a funeral about a week back, for a beautiful family who lost their hero, their father, I was asked to sing Sam Cook's "A Change is Gonna Come." A few days later, I lost a dear friend and his family's and friend's lives were changed forever. The whole point is to never lose faith.
The song I sang at the graduation, which is also a point of change from experiencing education to experiencing the field and having to deal with maybe not landing the job we want with so much competition for the same work, was "I Am Changing" originally performed by Dreamgirl Jennifer Holiday and it can be found on youtube at: https://youtu.be/lIyQEJgnWuE
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
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.
