This Sunday 2/11/18 on Jazz on the JNote: Tribute to Nelson Mandela

“The human voice is the organ of the soul” 

(Valorie Burton)

Nelson Mandela used the totality of his being to change the face of the modern world. He spent his life entrenched in thought about being a victim of cultural imposition and used his voice to speak up against it. He took on the stupendous task of organizing social wars for the mental, spiritual and physical freedom of his people. 

He became a legend in his own time because he worked hard to make adjustments to the so-called laws of supremacy that came in the apartheid era when human rights for people who were living in South Africa were continuously being violated. He provided encouragement then and still in today’s world. And with this in mind, this Sunday, my show Jazz on the JNote will be dedicated to his life.

This Sunday, Jazz on the JNote which is a jazz-based radio show hosted by Stephanie Jeannot, will focus on the life and achievements of the hero, Nelson Mandela, as part of our four-week Black History Month series. While the non-stop music flow of jazz is being played, there will also be moments of conversation about the life and times of the first black president of South Africa. Please listen if you can.

How to Listen

Sunday 7PM EST http://www.theenglishconnectionmedia.com

Sunday 7:30PM EST WNYE 91.5 FM

In the 24/7 Rotation at Medgar Evers College Community Radio http://www.mec.cuny.edu/wmec-radio

Hope that you will tune in and we will be able to vibe together. If you do, let me know by simply saying hello in the chatroom on-line. I always look forward to conversing with listeners.

Listenership

I should also mention that, at the end of every show, I ask listeners for their comments, suggestions or songs selections that they may be interested in hearing on future episodes and if you do, please feel free to share these songs, even if they are your own, to jazzonthejnote@yahoo.com

Thank you so much for checking out my blog post and hope to connect with you all really soon. Have a wonderfully blessed day.

Poettues: And Then There Was the Music

It’s poetry Tuesday and today my cognitive load seems to be on poetic works.

As we celebrate the black history of America and the world, today I want to honor such poets as Melvin B Tolson who said, “When the exceptional historian comes along, we have a poet.” Some other notable poets who were iconic and left behind a wealth of works for the world to enjoy are Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar, just to name a few.

Alice Walker was not only a poet but a civil rights activist who participated in the march on Washington in 1963 and volunteered to enroll persons of color to vote in Georgia and in Mississippi. She felt that “activism was her rent for being on this earth.”

SPEAKING OF POETRY . . .

What better day than today to announce that for the first time, my second book, And Then There Was the Music; Musical Poetry and an Essay is available on Amazon. 

And Then There Was the Music

I didn’t think I had 100 pages of writing in me until I saw the hundred pages unfold before my eyes. I didn’t think I had as much focus as I did to complete a work like this until I decided to sit and just let the words flow. But thank God for the joys of writing and sharing some historical data about music and how it has been used as a political voice since the beginning of time, as well as other fun, music related poems that I included.

Here are a few poems that you might see in the book. Hopefully you will take the time to read them and if you like them, please consider purchasing a copy of my book for yourself.

  

Lessons in the Blues

Don’t let hate, interrupt the rhythm of the 24 hours you’ve been given in your day.

Don’t let the rocks that slingers throw blind your vision and get in your way.

Don’t let lack of love from your brothers cause you to feel shame.

Don’t let the prejudicial system make you lose you’re A-game.

Don’t let the denial of true education stop you in your mental growth.

Don’t let bad news keep you from opening the newspapers to get in the know.

Don’t let the sound of the 9:30 bell discourage you from earning your own dough.

Don’t think that little you, can’t make a difference because you can glow.

We all got bills and baggage and things to do before the day is done.

We all got bills due that we must pay off to someone.

We all got lives worth living and no the blues need not apply.

We all got means to see the truth for ourselves with our own eyes.

We all got to sit down to defecate regardless of color.

And we all take off one pant leg at a time, whether a sister or brother.

And we all have a song and dance and a rhythm of life we keep.

It’s learning that we are all not that different that mostly makes me weep.

Why are we blind to this truth of the world in which we live?

And why is the blues the only means that some people live?

And why is it that some don’t even have a real reason to give,

to explain why they hate based on color, sex or religion?

Charles Pulliam

Listen to the rhythm of the tumbadora.

Hands beating its wood;

Sounding the heartbeat

between scat chorus you hear the throb

taking you to another place like the turn of a door knob.

A quartet of songs

with an application of beautiful hand drumming along

met by a huge cheering crowd

and Charles Pulliam, all decked out, smiling out loud.

IPod

When these headphones are plugged into my ear, I tune out the world

and hear nothing else.

Even if I come and ring somebody’s bell and they say, “Who is it” I can’t tell

because my song be on and that’s all that matters when my IPod is on play.

Just make sure you hear sirens ringing if they are speeding your way

or the conductor saying the train is skipping stops and yours is one of them;

even if the song currently being absorbed is a hit from an iconic gem

Indie Artists

Independent artists of the planet.

Charles Mingus, Max Roach and 21-Century artists.

Music makers, dreamers coloring the day with their art.

Bohemian rhapsodies they play in the day and in the dark.

We bring social influence to light.

We push our music because our message is our why.

We sink like the Titanic into the work that needs to be done.

Our music is the magic we use to try to affect everyone.

We flood our thoughts, share them and leave a little sparkle.

Our life is our canvas to wake up and be-you-tiful.

Hope that you enjoyed the read and if you did, please check out some of the other poems featured in this book. It is available in both Kindle and print version. You can check out my author page on Amazon here: Stephanie Jeannot's Author Page

I'll Be There by Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter, Stephanie Jeannot & Fred Simmons

Please check out original tune 

by

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Stephanie Jeannot 

&

composer and pianist Fred Simmons 

entitled 

"I'll Be There." 

Video features a live clip of the tune as

performed at Cafe Oasis in Baldwin, NY

featuring

Joe Fry on guitar

Thomas Gooding on bass

Stephanie Jeannot on vocals

Richie Johnson on drums

Jazz E Matt on background vocals

Fred Simmons on keys and background vocals

If you enjoyed the song, I wanted to let you know that the full length tune is available for download on CDbaby 

Thank you so much for checking out my blogpost
and
for supporting indie artists and singer/songwriters, like me.

It means more than a warm piece of pecan pie at Thanksgiving dinner, and I love pecan pie.

I love you with my whole heart.

Peace and blessings to you! <3 

New Poetry Book by Stephanie Jeannot Coming Soon

What wonderful weather 
we had this past weekend. Seemed so poetic, how the warmer temperatures seemed to be so encouraging. So harmonious was it. I think I enjoyed every single moment of it.

Another day, another week, another hour! Blessings of grace from my creator. And I'm bursting with honey and melanin. I'm thirsting for you to share my intent of putting out my second poetry book.Perhaps you might take a look at my promo video for the forthcoming 

"AND THEN THERE WAS THE MUSIC; 

THE POETRY COLLECTION"

BY STEPHANIE JEANNOT

COMING THIS FEBRUARY 2018

Check out her author page on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Jeannot/e/B076N7XYC6

Please check out the full length video to the song, 

"Harmony"

 by 

Stephanie Jeannot & Paul Garrod 

on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/Et2DjrOKJAo

Alright Beautiful People of this world. 
Thank you for stopping by my blog! 
Please leave a comment and tell me what you thought. 

And if you watched my video, let me know. It's always good to hear that I might have influenced an interest in what I'm doing. 

God bless you all! And thanks again.

Peace! 

My Dad Two Thumbs Upped MY Song

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.

http://www.youtube.com/sj1and0

"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 invite you to please check out out this performance. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/OCw3KDKnguU 

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! 

Musicals Color Me Home

I have loved the movie Polly since I was but a little girl.

The made for TV movie Polly was a 1989 adaptation of the book Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter featuring Keisha Knight Pulliam portraying a young girl who just lost her mother and was left having to find her way from Detroit to her aunt “Polly’s” home (portrayed by Phylicia Rashad) in Alabama.

I guess it is for a few reasons that loved the movie so much that I had been searching on-line for it for a long time and found it on Amazon. But, I have not watched it in a while. For one, I was and still am a big fan of The Cosby Show and find myself watching the series on Amazon Prime a lot. I am on Season seven now but not from binge watching. There are days I go with no TV at all. But when I do turn my television on, that is usually the thing I watch when I am lying in bed and resting before my night’s slumber.

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

The other reason is I love musicals. Musicals color me home. The joy of the music and the dancing always seems to make me smile. I can't help but smile watching The Sound of Music or Stormy Weather. Those are my top two favorite movies of all time. 

The songs by Walt Disney Records in Polly are just beautiful. My favorite ones featured are "Rainbow Maker" and "Sweet Little Angel Eyes." And then the dance routines are so entertaining. 

The third reason might possibly be that when I was younger, people used to tell me I looked like Keisha Knight Pulliam (the lead in the movie Polly) and so, people used to call me Rudy in the first couple of my grade school years. I think in the eight-year span of grade school, The Cosby Show was the show that I never wanted to miss on Thursday nights at 8 PM and with it lasting eight years, it lasted my whole span of my primary school days.

Today is the first time I watched it in a long time and today is also the first time that this film made me cry. Now, there is nothing sad in the movie at all. It is just a cute musical film with dancing, singing and positive vibes yet, I found myself in tears while in movie mode.

Does this happen to anyone else or am I the only one who watched a movie and tears just start flowing for the happy endings? LOL! This is such a touching film and if you never have watched it, maybe you should because it is a great movie. You can check it out here:  https://www.amazon.com

 

  Polly : The Wonderful World of Disney

What is your favorite movie and if any? Do you ever cry while watching films? And if so, which one do you need a box of tissues to be next to you while watching? 

Check Out Stephanie Jeannot's Youtube Channel

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018 EVERYBODY! 

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.

You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/sj1and0