Biography
Growing up amid Kansas City’s deep-rooted traditions of swinging jazz and blues, J’ai absorbed those sounds from an early age. Her uncle Vernon Gower had performed with Billie Holiday, while her father played guitar behind national acts passing through town, giving her an unusually broad musical exposure that stretched from classical repertoire to country. She began writing songs at five and, by eight, was slipping into clubs to watch her father perform.
In 1988 she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer and songwriter. Pianist and arranger Phil Moore, guitarist Phil Upchurch, and Teddy Edwards numbered among her teachers. Though the washboard is conventionally tied to zydeco and Cajun music, J’ai repurposed the instrument as a “jazzboard.”
The 1997 release The Art of Blue evoked the twin musical currents of her former hometown. Local critics responded positively, and the resulting attention secured a two-month tour of Asia later that year, where audiences responded warmly.
In 1988 she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer and songwriter. Pianist and arranger Phil Moore, guitarist Phil Upchurch, and Teddy Edwards numbered among her teachers. Though the washboard is conventionally tied to zydeco and Cajun music, J’ai repurposed the instrument as a “jazzboard.”
The 1997 release The Art of Blue evoked the twin musical currents of her former hometown. Local critics responded positively, and the resulting attention secured a two-month tour of Asia later that year, where audiences responded warmly.
Albums
