Four Fives For Tuesday; Thoughts on Art & Music

Here we are! Another day, minute, hour and second of life that we were not promised and are very fortunate to see. What a blessing!

I am still amazed that the year is going by so quickly, that the weather in NYC has been so cold lately and that Thanksgiving is not only next week but, we have a little over 50 days until 2018 makes its welcome into our lives. How crazy is that? But thank God, for blessing us to see these exciting times.

And just as any other day, writing seems to just flow out of me like blood from a wound. Mama Kat posts these cool prompts every week on her website and I felt like joining in because it was an interesting one and hopefully you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed populating the information in this post which is like an introduction of sorts to who I am. Maybe some of these things will be similar to the way that you think. 

Five Things That You Might Not Know About Me

1. I love Shakespeare and everything he writes. I have loved him ever since a high school professor of mine made us memorize and recite a monologue from his play “Hamlet.” I loved him so much that I started to notice his language; so much that one day when reading the King James Bible, I noticed how Elizabethan the language in it was and after doing research, came to find out that Shakespeare was one of the translators of it. 

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Knickerbocker Classics)

I love "Romeo & Juliet," "Taming of the Shrew," still can recite the monologue from "Hamlet" word for word today and I consider his sonnets to be a template of how to write a song. The first 8 lines are the verse and the last two are the chorus. I love the way he wrote; beautiful works!  

2. Amel Larrieux has become my favorite singer. I love everything she sings and have every single one of her albums including from when she was in the group Groove Theory. I have seen her in concert four times and really enjoy the way she sings her songs. MY favorite song by her is “Even If” off of her first solo project Infinite Possibilties. There was a time when I would spend my evening singing all of her songs from every album to the four corners of my basement. Her sound is very unique and I love what she can do with her voice.

3. Aladdin is one of my favorite movies and though it is a cartoon movie, I can sit and watch it on any day or time, laugh, cry and sing along to every song that is featured in the movie. I never grow tired of it and watch it anytime it is on television and also have the DVD to it. Great classic animated film.

 

Aladdin (Two-Disc Set DVD, Special Edition,2004) English/French/Spanish

4. I was working as a choir director at Mt Moriah Baptist Church in Harlem, NY over the youth. It was interesting for me because I always wanted to work with kids and with music. The dilemma was reaching through to the kids. I came from a Roman Catholic background and I loved hymns. Still do. But, the kids did not like it so much. Every week I would come in with one of my favorite hymns and they said, “I don’t like that one miss Stephanie,” and every week I would leave crying. Then one week, I decided to no longer leave crying. I set a goal to create my own music to share with them and using Cakewalk Sonar software and my Korg Triton LE Music Workstation, I created my first ever collection of works of music. It was an album of Christian works featuring 14 tracks: intro, outro, two interludes and ten full length songs.

I Know is just one of them created for this project to teach the kids songs that I thought they’d like. Turned out that NYC bassist Ozzie Jones Jr liked my bass line on the song so much that he plugged into my system and did some live bass overdubs over it and the song was created. You can check out that tune here: https://soundcloud.com/stephanay-jnote/stephanay-jnotes-tracks-1

By the way, yes, I did meet my deadline and had a cd for every kid ready to give them with a bag of other goodies for Christmas. I worked night and day until the production was completed which was on Christmas eve of that year with cases, cd covers with photos, artwork on each cd and a track listing on the back. “I Know” is the only song I have shared publicly from it with anyone else.

5. I used to think that Miles Davis was mute because I saw this recording of a concert he did years ago and he did not speak to the crowd at all. He had his back turned to them most of the time. I didn’t understand his demeanor until when doing my college thesis and came across his autobiography where he spoke about being a student at Julliard and ideologies. I also read a few articles where he was interviewed and spoke about his views about society, jazz, racism and being accepted into segregated establishments only to provide a service.  Then I saw a video that was presented on Youtube of an interview where he actually had dialogue and that cleared up everything. I fell in love with who he was after reading his autobiography and he became one of my favorite jazz musicians of all times. I was excited to hear that there was a movie out about his life but decided not to see it because I was told that many of the aspects that I found interesting about him as an individual in this society that were featured in his autobiography were not included in the film and instead, the movie was based on the rumoresque side of his life.

 

Miles

Five Things I Am Knowledgeable About

1. Video Editing

2. Cakewalk Sonar

3. Live Musical Stage Performing

4. The Culture of Jazz

5. Composing

Five Things I Know Nothing About

1. Snapchat

2. House of Cards

3. Playing a horn

4. Driving in NYC without getting an attitude

5. Iphone 7 and up

Five Things I Believe

1. Christmas is the best holiday of the year and the best season is autumn because of all the beautiful colors and fashion designs made for it. 

2. A broken language does not mean that a people bastardized though they were forced to learn it. It means that they used their intellect to be able to effectively communicate in a language that was never theirs to begin with

3. Every hour of the day is rush hour because everybody has become so impatient lately. It seems like the more electronic and fast processing information becomes, the attention span of people and their ability to wait even for a second is too long. I think soon all positions where humans interact with each other personally will dwindle down and everything will be online without any real human interaction

4. God is the source of all my strength and the strength of all my life. Without him I’d be nothing. I can lean on him and through his faith, I do not have to worry about too much because he always provides a way; even out of no way.

5. I have a great library of music featured on Spotify that you definitely should check out and add to your music playlists here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6WUF7BBajYlCVnn4phqIeU

Your Turn

Care to share? I would love to know some things about you that might be similar or different. What are five things that would surprise people to know about you?

Thank you for reading my post and thank you for sharing your thoughts. God bless! 

The Best Part of My Day

“Little hinges swing big doors.” – David Hooper

The best part of my day is…

Photo by David A Powell

When I get around my students and these young people 

keep me grounded and sane. I come to their table and they 

encourage me with their warmth and their talent. Their 

company is graceful, engaging and captivating. 

Photo by David A Powell

They are like these 

unrecognized giants in my 

life that deserve a reservoir 

of goodness. 

They energize me. They inspire me to want to know more so 

that I can do better in trying to give them more knowledge 

that they can apply to their own lives and journeys. I never 

expected that you could learn so much through sharing your 

wealth of wisdom and experience. I actually give myself 

homework when I am around them; especially because I do 

not know so much about music. I am just a singer and was 

never really a student of music; though I would acknowledge 

the artists I listen to as my teachers. I only took one formal 

class series at Jazz Mobile which was over a three month 

span of time. I can say, the more I want to give them, the 

more research I do to find what I need to share with them for 

vocal health and for help with their music.  

Photo by David A Powell

Thunderous acclaim is definitely suitable for how they propel 

me with sheer confidence. They truly bless my life in every 

way. 

This post was inspired by a writing prompt by Mamakat. So 

in the spirit of sharing my favorite part of day, please share 

with me yours. 

Here and There Throwbacks Tweeps!

Last week I tweeted two things on twitter that I want to share.

On the first one, I wrote “this video shoot got me like Oooh Oooh!” Here and the on the second one, I wrote “All of a sudden I'm a shoeaholic again; these shoes though, definitely ain't for walking” There.

And so, I did a video shoot for one of my songs off the "Finally JNote" album and executive director and producer of the video, Keisong Powell, had us sprinkled about the oasis of Jamaica Queens, NY and we put our gentle focus on shooting a car scene with me driving this beautiful, convertible Lexus through the busy traffic of the Van Wyck expressway with a camera mounted on the side. Imagine driving someone else’s expensive vehicle which is delicate and though you are used to using your heavy foot to rear through the streets like a stray bullet, you have to drive like a novice avoiding all sharp edges and with hopes that the camera mounted on the side will not fall and break.

I had the perfect shoes on for it though; these beautiful and sexy heels that you can only walk in for so long but for driving, lol, you could have your foot pumping the gas all day.

We got through the first stretch of the video for my song "Time Machine" and it was an amazing shoot and I am excited. If you have not heard my song “Time Machine" yet, you can take a listen to it on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/6PX6lWw1RWc115RkjmU72I

I look forward with confidence at the day when I can actually share with you the official music video for it coming soon.” Thank you for reading my post inspired by a writing prompt by Mamakat. Always a great way to get started in the writing process and I am thankful that you took the time to read it. 

God Bless!  

K is for Killing Sounds That I Listen to Most

MamaKat added as one of her writing prompts to list the top most played songs in my playlist and when I took a look at the tunes that made up this list, it made me think of all the musicians and singers that put these songs together, the many times I have listened to them and how I came to love the music and also wondered about the experiences that these artists lived to be able to put all of themselves into these tunes. What wonderful songs! 

My top ten are:

1.       Get Up by Amel Larrieux

·      I just love Amel Larrieux. Her voice is da bomb and I love listening to any song that she has sung; whether it is with Groove Theory or her solo stuff. She sings and I listen to the words she has written; awesome writer. She sings and I sing along and imitate her style. She sings and I exercise my voice. I love what she can do vocally and I like her music a lot.

2.       I’ve Got a Right to Sing the Blues by Billie Holliday

·       Awesome song and awesome spin on it. I like Billie’s style. She was such a unique singer and has a great voice. Out of all the songs I have heard jazz greats sing, she has a different way of putting it and it is really nice to the ears. This song is new to my playlist but somehow is there as number two in my top ten most played list on my ITunes

3.       Bye Bye Blackbird by Carmen McRae

·         I have loved this song for a long time and I love the way that Carmen sings it. I have heard a few different versions of this song but Carmen’s spin on it is my favorite. Great standard from 1926 by Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon. I love listening to it and I love singing it as a cover. Carmen’s way of expressing is really great. She is an excellent singer and I love her voice and the way that she carries any tune.

4.       Blue N Boogie by Dizzy Gillespie

·     Dizzy is one of my favorite jazz musicians of all time and I love everything that he plays. This song from 1944 is nice because it is jazz and funky at the same time. I like the rhythm. It is becoming weird to me though that most of the songs that are in my top 10 most played list were created decades before I was even born. But . . .

5.       Alone Together by Ella Fitzgerald

·         The director of the Medgar Evers Jazz Ensemble which I am a member of, was playing this song on his trumpet and I fell in love with it. I think since I heard him play it, I have listened to Ella’s version about 150 times. Great tune. Ella is just the quintessential singer and I love her vocal style.

6.       La Vie En Rose by Madeleine Peyroux

·         I love, love, love Madeleine Peyroux and I think this is one of my favorites not only because I appreciate her singing but because I am trying to learn the song and get a better grasp of French and she sings a great version of this song first rendered by Edith Piaf.

7.       He Looked Beyond My Faults by Vanessa Bell Armstrong

·         Vanessa Bell Armstrong has such a powerful gift. I used to hear a choir member sing this song at church and I always loved it but never knew that Vanessa Bell Armstrong sang a rendition of it until the other day when I was asked to sing it for a beautiful couple’s aunt who just recently passed away. Great song to listen to on any day however. Very encouraging and beautiful.  Such an inspiring tune and the way that Vanessa Bell Armstrong sings is refreshing.

  I Wish You Knew by Mariah Carey

·         I have always been a Mariah fan and I think I have every single album she has ever made and can sing every song on each and every one of them word for word. Her songs used to be about 90% of my repertory in the past. I think I have listened to her most over the course of my life.  I love her voice and her music and I love singing along with her material. This song is a great song. I love the way it progresses and the beautiful way that she expressed the lyrics. She is such a great songwriter.

           Bohemia After Dark by Clark Terry

·      Amazing tune. Clark Terry plays the life out of his horn. He is so very talented and this song offers such a beautiful listen.

Ooh by Stephanie Jeannot

·         This is a new song I recently penned and I have been listening to it over and over again because I like it and am trying to see if there is anywhere in the song where I can make improvements.  But when it is complete and up to standard, I cannot wait to share it.  

Married to "The Sound of Music"

"Jazz music is America's past and its potential, summed up and sanctified and accessible to anybody who learns to listen to, feel, and understand it. The music can connect us to our earlier selves and to our better selves-to-come. It can remind us of where we fit on the time line of human achievement, an ultimate value of art.” – Wynton Marsalis

Something New

There is no truer statement than this. As a music lover, sometimes you connect to songs and genres of music without even realizing it until you find out where the song comes from.

I have been in the process of trying to gain more strength in my piano playing, referencing books of sheet music and trying to play while reading, which is not easy.

I have come to a point where I have begun doing research on music, trying to find out more about jazz and within the process, I got a sheet music book of Ragtime songs. The book consists of over 20 tunes that were popular during that era by some of the most famous ragtime musicians of that day and time.



Something Borrowed

I am not sure if this applies to all young people, but I know that when I was a little girl, the sound of the ice cream truck during the summertime would draw my attention and caused me to be uneasy because I wanted some of the tasty treats offered. Even if I did not run to the truck, the music was sonorous and delightful. Until today, I remember it and have tried to repeat the phrases of the nameless song that used to call attention to children, on my keyboard, still not knowing much about the song except for what it sounded like. And then, I opened up the Ragtime piano charts book, started with the first page and when I began to play the song, to my surprise there it was.

The title of the song is “The Entertainer” which was written by the King of Ragtime also known as Scott Joplin in 1902. How interesting to find that after decades of first hearing a song and loving it without even knowing anything about the content of its music, that  I'd come to realize I enjoyed Ragtime music all my life. This could possibly be why when “Ragtime” was in the theatres in NYC, I had been with desire to see it. Though I never have, I am grateful to have a book featuring songs of this type that I can use in my own unique way.

Check out more about "the Entertainer" here:

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entertainer_(rag)

The Best of Scott Joplin on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFeF_yFtssk

Something Blue


By unique I mean, I have kid sized hands that I have to stretch more than most people to play with both hands. My left hand has been underutilized and it feels like lifting weights trying to get it into piano playing mode.

Yet, I practice until my left hand is sore and my fingers are blue and numb. Hopefully I will get better at it, but for now, coming to more of an understanding of music is wonderful and helps me to value the art more than I ever considered.

Strange to be married to a simple sound of music without even knowing how much it has affected you as a person. And that's when you realize how influential music really is.  

The idea of being a musician and lover of what I do, makes my heart leap!