Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Carrie Jackson was born on August 25, 1959 in Newark, New Jersey  and began her musical career when she was 6 years old singing in the children’s choir at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Newark and is a product of the city’s Public School system, attending Peshine Avenue Elementary School, and Weequahic H.S.

She studied piano and voice with teacher, composer and arranger Howard “Duke” Anderson. Under his tutelage she learned the music business and became an accomplished seasoned singer as well as band leader. Coming into her own as a young adult, Jackson worked as a featured vocalist with Anderson’s Big Band. She also studied voice with Inez Mc Clendon, Nadine Herman and Winston Hughes at NCSA in Newark.

Carrie rekindles thoughts of America’s great jazz history, and attributes her vocal style of singing to her mentors, the Great Ladies of Jazz, Sarah “Sassy” Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, and Carmen McRae. As a soloist, or with her Jazzin’ All Star Band, Carrie swings and performs the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and musical selections songs from the Great American Song Book.

Jackson has been a featured artist in Women in Jazz, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and the musical review 49th Street Jazz, a tribute to Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Alberta Hunter. She is President/CEO of Mo-Jazz LLC, has toured both Europe and the United States and has fronted several orchestras.

Vocalist Carrie Jacksom continues to perform, tour  and record with a variety of musicians, a list too long to document here.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Joni Janak was born August 24 in 1944 in Amarillo, Texas and raised in a musical family. He was taught singing, dancing and piano at the Amarillo College of Music. She gave public recitals from the age of eight and had her first professional singing job at thirteen. Receiving a vocal scholarship to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, he eventually returned to Amarillo and sang with many different bands and with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra when he was 22.

Heading to Houston, Texas she sang in the Carriage Club at the Sheraton Lincoln Hotel until 1969 when she moved to Denver, Colorado, furthering her career. While there she sang with local and visiting jazz musicians, among them Dale Bruning, Ellyn Rucker, Phil Urso, Peanuts Hucko, Bobby Greene, Todd Reid, the Hot Tomatoes Jazz Band, Howard Davis and Jim Riley.

Meeting Carl Fontana while she worked the El Chapultepec he invited her to Las Vegas, Nevada to work with him. In Vegas she worked with Carson Smith, Tom Montgomery, Vinnie Tano, Bill Berry, Herbie Phillips and Bill Watrous. She also sang on a jazz cruise with the Johnny Carson Tonight Show Allstars, played jazz festivals and concerts

Vocalist Joni Janak continues to perform and record.

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The Jazz Voyager

Hitting the jetway to board yet another plane, this Jazz Voyager is going to be on a fourteen hour flight to Tokyo, Japan. The destination is Blue Note Tokyo and again will stay in the same hotel with the same walk to the club. More exploration of this wonderful city until it is the appointed hour to become part of the audience.

The night promises to be electric as three-time Grammy-winning and six time nominated vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant who takes the Billboard Critics Poll often will take the mic. The French-American singer has released seven albums and brings her unique style and a band featuring pianist Sullivan Fortner, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Kyle Poole for a three day residency from Wednesday to Friday.

With a cover of  ¥ 8,800 | $59.24, the evening is eagerly anticipated. The Blue Note Tokyo is located at 6 Chome-3-16 Minamiaoyama Minato City 107-0062. For more information contact the venue at https://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp.

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DC JAZZFEST

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ROY AYERS TRIBUTE

Atlanta is  celebrating the legendary Roy Ayers. A pioneer of jazz-funk, vibraphonist, composer, and producer whose sound became the heartbeat of Black culture from the 1970s through today. Often dubbed the “Godfather of Neo-Soul,” Ayers’ genre-bending artistry shaped the sonic foundation for countless artists, from Erykah Badu and The Roots to A Tribe Called Quest and Common.

Long before the dancefloors of Harlem to the airwaves of London and the sample-heavy beats of 90s hip hop, Roy Ayers’ Ayers started recording as a bebop sideman in 1962. In 1963, he released his debut studio album West Coast Vibes featuring a collaboration with the saxophonist Curtis Amy. He rose to prominence when he dropped out of Los Angeles City College and joined jazz flautist Herbie Mann in 1966. His music has transcended generations, inspiring a movement rooted in rhythm, liberation, and Black excellence.

Hosted by WCLK’s Morris Baxter, the evening will be opened by Heda Rose, followed by Mark Adams and a host of Atlanta musicians and vocalists.

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