Between the Lines and Dots

16 Mar

The Washington Women In Jazz Festival and a Tribute to Betty Carter

Jessica Boykin-Settles2 CommentsConcerts, Uncategorized

The year has flown by and The Washington Women In Jazz Festival is here again! Founded and curated by the amazing, wonderful, talented, hard-working Amy Bormet! Man..there really are not enough words to describe how wonderful I think she is! I have been extremely honored to be a part of this festival for the last three years. This year, I get to sing on a showcase with an AMAZING rhythm section made up of some of the swinging-est, foxiest, hard-hitting women...EVER! Amy Bormet on piano, Karine Chapdelaine on bass and Lydia Lewis on drums. And to add to the madness...I…

27 Jan

JBS Quartet at Twins Jazz – Feb. 1st & 2nd

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsUncategorized

24 Nov

Me and Lillie Mae Jones

Jessica Boykin-Settles2 CommentsJazz Vocalist, Practicing, Practicing Jazz Singing, Research, Uncategorized

Hi Folks! Tonight's session consisted of two+ hours of intense focused listening to recordings by the great jazz vocalist Lillie Mae Jones. What's that you say? You've never heard of her? Oh, you may know her by the name Lorene Carter. No? Betty Bebop? Getting closer...yup, that's right...BETTY CARTER! The one and only! :-) Not a lot of energy for a lot of piano and vocal work tonight as I'm still trying to recover from lots of yummy delicious Thanksgiving food! My hubby prepared his first Thanksgiving meal this year and he did an AMAZING job. We had Thanksgiving…

11 Nov

I’m Back!

Jessica Boykin-Settles2 CommentsConcerts, Jazz Vocalist, Uncategorized

It's been waaaayyyy too long since my last post...SORRY! Some other things needed my full attention and I am ashamed to say that I have not been practicing as I should due to those other things. I also caught the bug that was going around and was not able to get out of bed for a whole week! Anyway...enough with the excuses. Here's a quick rundown of what I've seen, heard and done since my last post: October 18th - My hubby (along with a fine group of musicians: Thad Wilson, trumpet; Steve Synk, bass; Terence Arnett, drums) did a…

07 Oct

Beds, Breakfasts and Improvised Music

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsConcerts, TravelBaltimore, MD, Michael Formanek, Rachael's Dowry, Windup Space

Hi All, The hubby and I are just back from a fantastic weekend in Baltimore, MD. We went up to hear bassist Michael Formanek's ensemble perform at the very funky, very hip Windup Space on W. North Avenue. My husband surprised me with an overnight stay in THE most beautiful and welcoming bed and breakfast. It's called Rachael's Dowry and is owned and operated by the most adorable brother and sister team ever! Norman and Tish have this thing on lock! The house is gorgeous, the food is amazing and the ambience is very relaxed. There are many delicate things around the…

02 Oct

Diminished Scales…AAAAAHHHH! (running away screaming)

Jessica Boykin-Settles4 CommentsPracticing, Practicing Jazz Singing, Uncategorizedplaying diminished scales, singing diminished scales

Hi All! A quick overview of yesterday's session: I started with my warmups. Afterwards, I noticed that my voice was not cooperating like the day before. There was a lot of fuzziness and I don't quite know why but it remained for the duration of my practicing. Weird...I sang through the "Ornithology" transcription and then worked on the first two major chord patterns. After taking them through all the keys, I practiced them both over the chord progression for "You Stepped Out of a Dream." It was fun to use them in context or at least out of the context…

30 Sep

Black Pizza…(Sung to the Tune of “Black Coffee”)

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsPracticing, Practicing Jazz Singing, UncategorizedBetty Carter, Charlie Parker, Jamey Aebersold, Jazz Ear Training, Ornithology, Seth Riggs, Singing for the Stars, speech level singing, transcription, Washington Women in Jazz Festival

Hi All! Today's practice session got off to a great start. I went through my Anne Peckham warm-ups and I noticed that there is starting to be some improvement in my vocal agility. That made me smile! I did both the warm-up for all voices and then the beginning warm-up for high voices. Then I went through all of the Speech Level Singing exercises in part one of the Seth Riggs Singing for the Stars book. I felt really good after this although there is still some fuzziness in my low range. I was able to get through the tongue…

29 Sep

Brian Settles and Central Union Grace the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsConcerts, UncategorizedBrian Settles, Corcoran Holt, Jeremy Carlstedt, Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage, Neil Podgurski, Secret Handshake

Last night, Brian had the awesome opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Millennium Stage series. It was a great honor to be invited and Brian, Neil Podgurski (piano), Corcoran Holt (bass) and Jeremy Carlstedt (drums) showed off! They performed tunes from the CD release Secret Handshake. Here is a link to the archived performance: http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M5177&type=A

26 Sep

Music tHERapy, Steve Coleman, Izze Apple Soda and Other Various and Sundry Things

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsConcerts, Practicing, Practicing Jazz Singing, UncategorizedAnne Peckham, Atlas Theater, Charlie Parker, false vocal folds, Ornithology, Seth Riggs, speech level singing, Steve Coleman, vocal warmup

Started this session with vocal warm-ups from the Anne Peckham's The Contemporary Singer. Even after getting through the Beginning Warm-up for all voices and the first warm-up for high voices, I still didn't feel warm or agile, my intonation was not on point and I was not getting the smooth transitions all the way through my range. My false vocal folds are also acting really lazy and I'm going to have to go back to my exercises for moving them off to the sides and from on top of my true vocal folds. At this point, because I was sounding…

22 Sep

Give the Drummer Some!

Jessica Boykin-Settles1 CommentUncategorizedJamison Ross, jazz competition, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter

Just got back from what was an exciting installment of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. This year, the drummers got to strut their stuff. The only one of the twelve semi-finalists I was familiar with was Jamison Ross. I first saw him in the documentary "Chops" which they screened at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Band Director Academy the year I took the course for jazz educators. If you have not seen this movie, I would highly recommend that you do! It follows several high school jazz ensembles as they prepare for a trip to the Essentially Ellington competition.…

18 Sep

Singing in the Not So Gentle Rain…

Jessica Boykin-Settles1 CommentPracticing, Practicing Jazz Singing, UncategorizedBohemian Caverns, Charlie, Ella Fitzgerald, How High the Moon, How to transcribe, Jazz Orchestra, Ornithology, vocal agility

After more than a week of absolutely glorious weather, it's storming, derecho-ing and tornado-ing here in the Washington, DC area. My husband was running around closing all of the windows in the house and saying, "Batten down the hatches!" I got some inspiration last night while hanging out with Brian who was sitting in with the award-winning Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. It was an evening of beautiful and adventurous arrangements, inspired fiery solos and great fun and camaraderie! This morning, I got to hang out with a very good friend who I had not seen in long time. We ate eggs…

14 Sep

“I’m Barack ‘Obobble’ and I Approve This Practice Session.”

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsPracticing, Practicing Jazz SingingBarack Obama, bobble head, Bobby McFerrin, Charlie Parker, Colonel Brooks Tavern, Democratic National Convention, Ella Fitzgerald, How High the Moon, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Ornithology, scat syllables

Meet my new practice partner; All the way from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC....BARACK OBOBBLE! Isn't he cute? My awesome pal, Tamara brought this Barack Obama bobble head figure back from the DNC for me. His head bobbles to the music while I'm practicing. Although he likes jazz, I think I have to learn to play and sing some patriotic songs for him in the near future! LOL! Have to admit that I didn't get in any practice time yesterday. I spent most of the day trying to kick a cold that was trying to jump on me.…

12 Sep

Frozen Chai and Charlie Parker

Jessica Boykin-Settles0 CommentsPracticing, Practicing Jazz SingingAnne Peckham, Brian Settles, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Estill Voice Method, frozen chai, How High the Moon, Jazz Piano Handbook, Michele Weir, Ornithology, Secret Handshake, Smithsonian, Take Five Series, transcription, WPFW-FM

I woke up to the most beautifully perfect morning...Oh my, how I love this time of year! Today is my big sister's birthday, so I took her out for breakfast at Open City Diner where I ate a huge omelet and drank THE most delicious confection: FROZEN CHAI! YUMMY! O.K., so anyway, let's get down to business. :-). Because I was up so late last night trying to get this website finished (I finally got into bed sometime after 2am) and I was up early, I have to admit that I didn't have a lot of energy to practice but…

11 Sep

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Jessica Boykin-Settles9 CommentsPracticing Jazz Singing, Uncategorizedjazz, jazz piano, jazz vocal, practice regimen, practicing, transcribing, transcriptions, vocal technique

Welcome to my brand new website and blog! This blog will be a diary of my progress towards becoming the best vocalist/composer/arranger that I can possibly be. I have most recently quit my day job in order to put in some uninterrupted serious practice time. This is a HUGE step for me as I have ALWAYS been employed at some kind of full-time job but I feel that after all of these years, I finally know what and how to practice. I just need the time to do it. So here is my list of things that I want…

21 Mar

Spring Break in High Point, NC

Jessica Boykin-Settles5 CommentsResearch, Travel, UncategorizedBenny Golson, High Point, High Point museum, J. H. Adams Inn, John Coltrane, John Coltrane house, Kepley's Bar-B-Q, NC, Reggie Workman, Southern Roots restaurant, statue

Hello readers! I am so excited that I am fulfilling one of my New Year's resolutions...to become a blogger! I thought I would use our trip to High Point, NC as a starting point for my blog. I know that some of your are probably thinking: "High Point, NC? What kind of a place is that to go on spring break?" The funny thing is, that is what the locals were also asking us! The reason for this particular location is that High Point is where our beloved John Coltrane grew up. Now believe me, I can't say that I…