The latest additions from the Kenny Barron collaborations in the Shop are “In the Slow Lane,” “Rain” and “Marie Laveau”.  (The Lead Sheets page includes most of the names of current and future titles to add.) Product pages have short clips, brief descriptions of styles and composers, and portions of lyrics. Return for new charts, or make it easier: sign up for “What’s New” below to join the email list for exclusive, periodic updates. Or email me. If you want to hear Kenny Barron’s latest CD, you might want to read Downbeat’s rave review.  For weeks it was included in their newsletters. It’s that good. Recorded in France, “The Source” is an elegant accomplishment throughout, complete with lovely liner notes and a beautifully designed physical CD package. Elegant is such an operative word when it comes to Kenny Barron’s illustrious career and beautiful music.

After a much-needed computer and software upgrade and some interruptions, like most people are fielding in this day and age, I’m slowly returning to proofing new songs for the Shop. My vocal studio has been coming back since we all can reasonably sing in person again.  I enjoy teaching vocal technique to students who love a wide variety of styles. Learning the fundamentals of your physical instrument and how to protect it prepares you for virtually any style. The Studio page has an overview of my work as a voice and musicianship teacher, speaker, and arts advocate. For more on my background, credentials, and as a professional musician, see JJJazz and About JJ. 

My latest talk, “How We Learn: Music as a Metaphor” will be given at an Arizona Art Center in January 2024. My hour-long presentations inspire me to keep up with continuing studies by neuroscientists and educators. Just recently one study concluded that musicians are better learners due to balancing multiple networks that fire across, not just both left and right hemispheres, but the whole brain. The neuronal connections in music go where other executive activities don’t. Another amazing finding reported that scientists can tell if someone was a musician after death by their brain. Study after study for decades has reinforced music’s ability to stimulate endorphins and dopamine, provide important health benefits, and to be of remarkable help in children’s development in multiple ways.  The “joy of singing” is not hyperbole. For topic abstracts, see Writer/Speaker.)

For lessons in voice/songwriting/arranging, etc., please visit the VTS page or just email me. For your band, group, or organization, review the VTS offerings of  Workshops.  New ones for next year will be announced this Fall.  You can read how some former students voice their say on the References page. I hope to return to in-person performances this fall: visit the JJJazz page to book performances. And see Noteworthy for a few brief blog posts related to singing, music, and the arts. Topics can include vocal technique, memorization, effective learning, and improving musical practice. Posts are infrequent given my schedule but hopefully rich in information.