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. 

Getting Over A Traumatic Experience: Car Accident

I have my moments where I am overcome with sad thoughts and it happens at the same time every year, though my accident was well in the past, I still experience the psychological traumas of it.

It seems like on the anniversary of it, I start reliving the bad experience from a distance. I start getting sick; even to the point of paralysis where I cannot get out of my bed or start experiencing all these pains in my body that hadn’t been there and make me ail.

I often wonder if I should be desensitized by the situation by now. I mean, my river of knowledge is far beyond that night and time when my accident occurred. So much time has passed and so many events have taken place and yet still, my near-death experience changed my whole entire world of limitless abundance and I am back to confusion, in a frenzy and in tears, and paralysis masks my joy.

My uncle made me realize that I am able to choose my response to life the day after it happened. While I was ready to stay in bed crying and blaming myself about what happened and thinking of all the terrible things that could have happened, including my head being cut off and my life coming to a sudden end, he was ready to make me feel like life was still worth living. My mind tends to flirt with all the could have would haves and then I feel depressed and sick and I stiffen in response to the memory on the anniversary. Sometimes I wonder if I will be latched to this event forever. I guess I am still seeking clarity of how something like that could have happened to me. I even sometimes taste fear of driving, synchronous to the anniversary date, on my tongue.  

I realized through this entire experience that if we dwell on dilemmas, we will never transcend the boundaries of them. I realized that what was encountered happened and cannot be changed because it is part of my history. I realized that it is unhealthy to live a life blaming yourself for something that happened or might have happened when it is well in the past and not my present reality. And I also realized that with my story, I can inspire others and help others who might have experienced something similar to me.

When I wrote the song, Enjoy Life, it was based on this situation. I wanted to slip away and forget that life still goes on regardless of what happened. The lyrics are based on my living, breathing history telling myself that I can still enjoy life even though life happened. 

By releasing my thoughts onto paper, I made it justifiable for me to move past it. And what made it even better for me was being able to get up on stage on the anniversary of my accident, to tell people about it and to sing to them my lyrics to “Enjoy Life” to let them know that it is okay to embrace each day to the fullness of it, regardless of our situations. 

Check out the music video for my song Enjoy Life here: https://youtu.be/alV2ULnr9z8

Flashback: Stepping Back Into MY Day Dream

"Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner.

Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control

and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory."

– Arthur Ashe

I was told to bring dresses, gowns and to look nice. I did not know what to pack, though I knew I would need to look red carpet worthy where it was most important; the most important being at the Tatarstan Filarmonia in Kazan, Russia.

I had waited for that moment for such a long time. I imagined it in my mind, never considering that my dream would come into fruition. And then it did and I had to be my best on the stage, regardless of the cold that the deep freeze of Russia was gripping me with.

I was like a pressure cooker about to explode with excitement at the reality that it was happening for real. The simple idea of it was something worth salivating over and finally, I was at the point where I could tweak the image in my mind like a filmmaker as I literally stumbled into the vivid situation.

I looked like I was serious about what I came to do and confident on the outside, but on the inside, I was hiding my fear of either coughing on the stage in the middle of a song or having a runny nose on the stage, during my performance. But I couldn’t deny the fact that I had finally reached a vision I had only saw in the REM of a daydream. Here are some other photos from that night as well as a piece of a performance that solidified the thought, "Yes, I am here, singing with an orchestra; "At Last!"

With Anatoliy, the condutor of the
Tatarstan Filarmonia Orchestra

With Oklahoman singer and my duet partner
at the Tatarstan Filarmonia in Kazan, Russia,  Tavis Minner

With the Tatarstan Filarmonia Orchestra

Fluid Memories

Facebook has a tendency of stacking up memories and presenting it to you to remember what happened on this date in previous years. Thoughts in me then flutter like doves at the vital rhythms that my life has stumbled upon. A flame is kindled and it helps me to either reassess or to claim the grain of truth of the path that I am on and the destination that I am trying to reach.

In truth, pictures do speak 1000 words. Every single one, no matter where or when it is taken, has a story behind it and can produce in our mind images as continuous and fluid as waters of a fountain. If you are a writer and ever come to a point where you are struggling for words, don’t let that wall of silence block you. All the layers of irony that a photo holds can be the starting point of another golden floral work ready to rise up and face the sun in your journal.

Maybe you will come across a picture where you had orange spiked hair. What were the circumstances that surrounded that time and place? Relay the noise and confusion that is embedded in the capture. There was a story there. What is it?  Tell it. There is a fresh and spontaneous idea in those thousand words emotionally yearning to be told.

Like for instance. The bottom is a photo of the Medgar Evers College Jazz Ensemble which I was very blessed to be a member of. There are stories that are embedded in the experience that a poem, article or song can be conceived from. I loved the photo beside it because I took a picture by a wall with a mic in it and it looks so real. Made me realize how good my eye is at producing visual imagery. The others are from me performing my original music before a crowd of my peers, another in the preliminary stages of me producing my radio show Jazz on the JNote and then another of me singing an entire song in Spanish that I had never sang before a crowd or with a band until last night. All photos show me in some way as a work in progress. Stories are works in progress. We have a story even when we come to a moment of writer's block. Find a way to break the ice and let the words flow. 

What I come to realize in looking back is the strength of steel that is embedded in who I am. I jolted from all of those things into the person I am today. The work that I pined for all my life is written in those images. And then I consider my current plight. Experience is a story. We have a story. Those 1000 words are stories. 

I am filled with equanimity for a reason. Life has been a rocky journey but there have been some accomplishments in it which I am very proud of. I have found a sense of well-being. God has been so amazing to me and I am thankful. Sometimes looking back can draw deep gloom at what you didn’t get to do and sometimes photos can feel as good as a basketball player doing a tip in with the ball and scoring just seconds before the buzzer goes off.

We may show signs of deterioration as we grow older into the person we are today but thank God for where we have arrived. 

Throwback Thursday Memories of "Harmony"

This picture was taken a year ago today and it was a very memorable moment for me. 

I remember looking at my surroundings and seeing my life being relived in music. A year prior to this picture which was taken a year ago, the natural beauty of this site left a mark in my heart.

Paul called me and said, “hey, let’s go out and film a video.” I was excited. WE had worked on a song that I really enjoyed and I thought that it would have been pretty cool to create a visual anecdote of it. I cannot  describe how powerful that moment was for me, to get in my car with the idea that a new video was going to be made for my song, “Harmony.” I had no idea how things would go except for the fact that there would be wardrobe changes which I had grown accustomed to doing in my car years ago when my friend Mike used me as a model to test out his new camera for an outdoor photo shoot. While driving, I remember playing my song “Harmony” over and over again so I could make sure that I would not forget any of my lyrics, which as a filmmaker and producer of videos, I have seen many artists forget; it is not an uncommon thing to happen.

I looked at the area that seemed vaguely familiar and the site evoked a memory in me. It was like having a brief moment of de ja vu when I realized at that moment that I had been in this same exact place before. Yet, a year ago, when that picture was taken, I had not even known that the name of the park was Herman Griem Park. I just knew it had some of the most beautiful features. 

Paul and I were now connecting on a different level. We had gone from being in the studio for our brief moments of music recording to now taking it to the streets and video recording. I followed his car into an area full of grass covered hills. We drove into the parking lot and I remember seeing young kids playing handball in the hand ball court, and a basketball court which’s gates were locked.  Beside it was more greenery that lead to a brook surrounded by flowers and rocks that stood before a white foot bridge. All I remember was that it was the most beautiful area I had seen in Wyndanch and we were about to film a music video there. 

The picture shows a visual of a year ago with me hanging with TN'T's guitarist's grandkids before our performace at Herman Griem Park. Debbie’s grandkids were having a good time and running through the green fields like I had ran through it a year ago prior to the #tbt pic, as Paul viewed the action through the lens of his video camera. The only difference was that the #tbt pic was the day of the Babylon National Parks Department Music Festival and I was performing there with the group TN’T. We were all set to perform before a score of people on the mobile stage which was set up for us. 

Images flooded my mind of the three outfit changes I did in my car, the cold air of October that hit my sleeveless arms, the youth that decided to join us as we filmed and Eddie, who played the role of my love interest in the video. And as we started doing our sound check, the sky opened up and rain started escaping the grey clouds that suddenly covered the sky's piercing blue color. Within minutes, the parks department cancelled our outdoor concert. 

I was happy to have come back to the area this year where we gathered once again to do the Parks Department's outdoor music festival and were welcomed with favor and open arms by the charming sun. This post embodies a series of three separate events in the same park over a period of three years. If interested, you can watch the full length music video for Harmony here: https://youtu.be/Et2DjrOKJAo

Check out more music, photos and videos at my website http://www.jnotemusic.com

Thank you for reading my blogpost! 

What A Difference a Day Truly Makes

I will never forget the moments leading up to this picture which was actually taken a year ago today. 

Though it seems as an attractive option of things that I could have been doing, the other option would have been sitting home and crying about having just experienced a layoff. I had the option to invest a serious amount of time that day thinking about what
to do next. But as I look back at the year that brought me to the moments of  today, my faith in who I am and the awesome power of God was the glue that held me together.

A year ago today when that picture was taken was a few hours after I had been forced out of my seat where I had sat for over a decade and a year ago tomorrow celebrates one-year of when I radio hosted, produced and my first episode of my show Jazz on the JNote was ever aired.

I had the option of letting the idea of being without work resonate within me strongly. I had the option of letting the skeletons of doubt take creative control over my life and of
doing nothing to rectify my situation at all. I took a glimpse of what was on my calendar and realized that there was so much more to it than the glamorous fashion of yesterday, even though it just ended for me. It still was my yesterday.

I had an engagement to attend that night; the introduction show to the Fort Greene Park Jazz Festival which Eric Frazier puts together every year. I was so delighted that he allowed me to be a part of the musical festivities and wanted to be present at the first show to see what it entailed. There was nothing that was going to keep me from being there. Was it worth my time? Sure. 

I say that you can either gloat over the things that happen in your life that you must deal with or you can continue on living. One downfall does not mean that your life has ended. It means that the next chapter of your life is beginning. The next chapter included my radio show Jazz on the JNote, more focus on my music and writing,  and graduating from Medgar Evers College with honors. 

I say don’t put all your effort into letting your situation define you. I say, use your nearly bankrupt spirits to do something positive in your world that can not only benefit you but others in the process while also, replenishing your wealth of joy. When you consider the truth that at any given moment, change can happen, the idea of change can be taken seriously.

I tell you, every time I am prompted to glance down at my phone at an “on this date” post on Facebook, I find it fascinating when I take a glimpse of my current day and see in truth, what a difference a day truly does make.

And to end this post, I send love to all those in need of a boost of happiness. Here is a clip of "Cherokee" also known as "Indian Love Song" from the Fort Greene Jazz Festival which happened last year, in which I was featured and I'd like to dedicate to all of you readers.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HLiCOIxpzY&index=19&list=PLtEabtb9kz4JfOcuFHckwPhoyjqiYJTdq

Thank you for checking out my blogpost!