Jacob Sylvester

Since: 2006 | Position: Contributor | Reviews Albums | Location: Washington | Page Views: 823

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About Me

Jacob is an author, musician (vocalist/guitarist/pianist), and educator living in the Washington, DC area.

Jacob Sylvester is an author, musician, and educator with a B.A. in English and an M.S. in Management. He loves jazz because it exemplifies the best of American democracy. He believes it teaches one how to work individually and in harmony with others. Also, he writes under the JAKESONG MUSINGS banner. Over the years, Jacob has had a chance to meet many great jazz musicians. Jazz pianist Marian McPartland is one of the first jazz musicians he met as a young teenager. Still, he has been reading jazz magazines for years; so, he says it was really a big deal for him to meet some of the musicians he read about in those magazines: Earl Klugh, Jimmy Bruno, Pat Martino, Stanley Jordan, and Russell Malone. For his JAKESONG MUSINGS podcast, he has interviewed saxophonist and vocalist Camille Thurman (the first female musician to play with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis). Additionally, he has had vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, and jazz bassist Bill Crow on the show. Jacob invites you to reach out to him regarding his articles and other creative efforts.

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My Jazz Story

I fell in love with jazz music as a young teenager because my mentor, Juan Smith, used to listen to it. Back then, I was learning how to play the guitar and writing poetry. Most days, as I wrote my poetry, I would have jazz music playing in the background. There would be Miles Davis, Gil Scott-Heron, or Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" playing as I search for the right words for my poetry. Somehow, the freedom in the music set the mood for my mind to wander and explore with my writing. To this very day, I still have jazz music playing in the background as I write...I still love the feeling it gives me.