LJ Folk

L J Folk has been making music since the late 70's, as a songwriter, guitarist, producer, educator, and,

most rewarding for his listeners: Singer.

His award-winning voice has been described as, “Sheer perfection,” (Lesley Mitchell-Clarke -WholeNote Magazine).

His live shows showcase his ability to vocally lift well-known songs to newer, exciting places.

The highlight of his latest, NEAR ME is a duet with Canada’s jazz vocal jewel, Emilie-Claire Barlow, on L J's arrangement of Bacharach/David's

"The Look of Love." View it here: https://youtu.be/Rt2OvtN7fjM

2017 saw Porsche Motor Sport licensing L J's original Big Band song, "(It's Gonna Be A) Great

Year," From his "Parking For Meatballs" CD (2014), for a New Year's promotion. View it here:

https://youtu.be/nfteL_Z541A

Awards

2006 Durham Music Awards (Male Vocalist & Album)

Flutist Yulia Musayelyan Contemplatively Melds Latin American Folk Sensibilities With Modern Jazz Aesthetics On 'Strange Times'

Source: Outside in Music
October 15, 2024

The past four years have seen dramatic crests and troughs within society, from the dark lows at the heart of the global pandemic to the renewed sense of vigor and joy that has blossomed following the extinguishing of that crisis. Throughout these four years, musicians in particular have adapted and expressed themselves in newfound and creative ways, oftentimes speaking for broader groups by means of their personal experiences. Flutist Yulia Musayelyan is one such musician who, in the midst of ...
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Performance / Tour

Outlaw UK Folk Singer Beans On Toast And Jeshua Marshall, Of Larry And His Flask, Embark On Co-headline US Tour, September 26 - October 20, 2024

Source: 1888 Media
September 26, 2024

Outlaw UK folk singer Beans on Toast and American roots rocker Jeshua Marshall (of Larry and His Flask acclaim) have announced a 4-week coast-to-coast co-headlining trek that sees them on the road from September 26 to October 20. Building on a successful handful of U.S. shows last fall, the like-minded cohorts will play twenty shows in total, canvassing every time zone. It’s a camaraderie that developed quickly. An instant connection as if rediscovering an eons-old friend. Beginning at revered haunt ...
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Recording

Pianist Milen Kirov Infuses American Jazz With European Classical, Bulgarian Folk Traditions On 'Spatium,' Set For June 3 Release

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
April 8, 2022

Pianist Milen Kirov finds the perfect formula with the June 3 release of Spatium on Independent Creative Sound and Music (ICSM) Records. A solo piano performance of 13 originals, the album is precisely the melting pot of styles that has long been the focus of the multi-dimensional Kirov’s creative journey. “My goal is to find the meeting point of three traditions: Western classical music, American jazz and blues, and Bulgarian traditional music,” the native Bulgarian pianist says. “There is no ...
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Video / DVD

A Day for 10 Jazz-Folk Clips

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 21, 2021

For some reason, today feels like we need some jazz-folk to remind us all what's most important—country, freedom, truth and respecting our differences. Here are 10 jazz-folk clips: Here's Brother John Sellers' Down By the Riverside in 1954, with Sir Charles Thompson (p), Freddie Green (g), Walter Page (b) and Jo Jones (d)... Here's Kitty White singing Ten Thousand Miles in 1956... Here's Fred Katz's Old Paint from Folk Songs for Far Out Folk in 1958, with Fred Katz (cello), ...
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Recording

Flutist Yulia Musayelyan’s 'Unsaid' Tastefully Combines Global Folk Traditions With Her Own Ingenuity To Leave An Irrevocable Mark On Modern Jazz

Source: Outside in Music
June 3, 2020

Flutist and composer Yulia Musayelyan is truly a global citizen, and her music reflects this multiculturalism with a brilliance flowing from her respectful and masterful synthesis of international folk styles as she carries them forward into the fold of modern jazz. Unsaid documents a decade of learning, creating, and refining as Yulia and her music have grown to become a powerful voice that is far greater than the sum of their constituent parts. Ten years passed since Yulia previously stepped ...
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Recording

Lissy Walker Returns With "Wonderland" Another Sublime Collection Of Classic, Soulful Folk/Jazz September 23

Source: Lissy Walker
August 12, 2014

Lissy Walker is a jazz singer, but she brings her own unique spin to the music by adding elements drawn from the worlds of folk, country, and 70s acoustic pop. Walker's burnished vocals and her virtuosic band slip effortlessly between genres to create their own soulfully sweet sound–dreamy and bittersweet, heartfelt and swinging–on her stunning new recording, Wonderland. For most of us, the word wonderland conjures up images of Lewis Carroll's surrealistic fables, as well as a dizzying array of ...
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Recording

CSNY 1974 Debuts at #17, #37, #81 on Billboard Top 200, #1 on Billboard Folk

Source: Michael Ricci
July 17, 2014

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED BOX SET, CSNY 1974, DEBUTS AT #17, #37 and #81 ON BILLBOARD’S TOP 200 CHART, #1 ON BILLBOARD’S FOLK ALBUM CHART THE LONG AWAITED RELEASE INCLUDES 40 LIVE TRACKS, ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, FROM THEIR HISTORIC 1974 SUMMER TOUR 40 YEARS AGO LOS ANGELES – CSNY 1974, the long awaited boxed set from the historic 1974 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young arena tour, has debuted three (3) times at #17, #37 and #81 on Billboard’s ...
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Event

Folk Music Legend Pete Seeger To Receive First Phoebe Jacobs Award Of Distinction At The Louis Armstrong Center’s What A Wonderful World Event On September 23

Source: Carol Rubiano
August 12, 2013

Pete Seeger, a master of vocals, banjo, and guitar and well known for influencing the development of folk music and for his continued commitment to social justice, peace and environmental issues, is the recipient of the first Phoebe Jacobs Award of Distinction which will be presented by Beth Israel Medical Center’s Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine at its 8th Annual What A Wonderful World event on Monday, September 23rd. Also being honored are Fran Silverman, ACSW, LCSW-R, Director ...
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Recording

Bassist & Composer Derrick Hodge Premieres “Gritty Folk” From His Debut Recording "Live Today" To Be Released Aug. 6 On Blue Note Records

Source: Michael Ricci
July 18, 2013

HODGE STEPS OUT FROM THE ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT WITH DIVERSE DEBUT THAT FEATURES COMMON, GLASPER, ALAN HAMPTON & OTHERS On August 6, Blue Note Records will release Live Today, the debut recording from extraordinary bassist and composer Derrick Hodge. Hodge is perhaps best known as the anchor of the genre-bending, GRAMMY award-winning band Robert Glasper Experiment, but he has also spent time in the cutting-edge jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s group, and is currently the music director for the R&B star ...
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Economics

Impact Study: Newport Jazz & Folk Festivals Contribute Millions To RI Economy

Source: Carolyn McClair Public Relations
April 6, 2013

Economic Impact Study Commissioned by Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. Estimates Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals Contribute Millions to Rhode Island Economy NEWPORT, RI: At the request of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc. commissioned a study designed to measure the economic impact of the 2012 Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals on the State of Rhode Island. This study was conducted by Advantage Marketing Information, North Kingstown, RI. The results of the 19-page report concluded ...
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"If you love vocal jazz, you will want to add this high-energy artist to your collection. I give LJ a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" —Dick Metcalf, CADENCE MAGAZINE, October 2015

"As a vocalist, Folk is nothing short of breathtaking – expressive and compelling, his voice effortlessly and consistently delivers the goods. Despite the whimsical title, this CD is a work of incredible depth and artistry and certainly one of the finest vocal jazz recordings of the year." —Lesley Mitchell-Clarke, The WHOLENOTE MAGAZINE, April 2015