J'ai Janett Michel, known professionally as Sweet Baby J'ai, is an American contemporary jazz singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and playwright.

Background

She grew up in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. She wrote songs at age of five and three years later managed to enter clubs where her father played guitar. Her uncle, Vernon Gower, was a bassist for

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

and

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

. Her cousin Michael Howell was a guitarist for

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Career

In the 1980s she moved to Los Angeles and received lessons from Phil Moore. She performed with

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and then ...

and

Phil Upchurch Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and ...

. For many years she worked pianist Nate Morgan, guitarist

Ronald Muldrow Ronald Muldrow (February 2, 1949 in Chicago – January 31, 2007 in Los Angeles) was a soul jazz and hard bop jazz guitarist. As an emerging jazz guitarist in the early 1970s, Muldrow connected with soul-jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris and contribu ...

, and drummer

Sherman Ferguson Sherman Eugene Ferguson (October 31, 1944 – January 22, 2006) was an American jazz drummer. For a time he was a member of the jazz trio Heard Ranier Ferguson. Background Ferguson once said that when people asked him what he did, he wouldn't ...

. She has performed in the U.S., Europe, and Asia and at concert halls, festivals, and clubs such as the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

, Ford Amphitheater,

Playboy Jazz Festival The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival is an event held in the Hollywood Bowl that celebrates jazz and features both established and up-and-coming jazz musicians. Founded in 1959 by Hugh Hefner as the Playboy Jazz Festival, it was held in Chicago but d ...

, Tokyo Concert Hall, and Casablanca's Super Dome. Her debut album ''The Art of Blue'' (1998) was followed by ''Evolution'' (2003). Both included Morgan and Edwards. In 2005, ''Jazz Baby'' was released and J'ai worked with

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is an American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation on Red Bird Records. Af ...

, Freddie Cole,

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

and for a children's compilation jazz album. ''Prove It On Me'' (2008) is a soundtrack from Dee Jae Cox's play of the same name in which J'ai starred. Her theatrical appearances include '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'', ''C'est Bon'', and ''

Spunk Spunk may in colloquial English mean either courage or semen. It may otherwise refer to: Music * ''Spunk'' (Sex Pistols bootleg album), a 1977 bootleg album by the Sex Pistols * Spunk/This Is Crap, a 1996 re-issue of ''Spunk'' by the Sex Pistol ...

''. She received critical acclaim for her role as

in the musicals ''Sang Sista' Sang'' and ''Voices'' and Beneatha, in ''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

''. She co-wrote and starred in the play ''3 Women: A Dramatic Tribute to the Divas of Jazz'' and wrote the film ''Bessie, Billie & Ruth'', which was chosen as the official selection at the Pan African Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS.

Discography

* 1998: ''The Art of Blue'' * 2003: ''Evolution'' * 2005: ''Jazz Baby'' * 2007: ''Prove It On Me'' * 2008: ''Introducing J'ai Michel''

Filmography

* 2001: ''Yo Alien'' (Daughters to Feed Productions) * 2002: ''Divas Breaking Taboos'' (Traipsing Thru Films) * 2003: ''Bessie, Billie Ruth'' (Traipsing Thru Films) * 2008: ''World Stage Stories'' (Haikeem Productions)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jai, Sweet Baby Bebop singers American jazz singers Traditional pop music singers Torch singers American women jazz singers 1959 births Living people 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers