Meet JaMichael

Today we’d like to introduce you to JaMichael.

Hi JaMichael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was about 10 or 11 and was going to school in south Florida, I asked my parents for a saxophone or a clarinet because my best friend at the time told me I should join the school band. A few days later, my father came home with a flute he had purchased from the pawnshop and the rest was history! At the end of my 6th grade, my mom decided to move my brother and I to upstate New York, Rochester where I started to take music a little more serious because I wanted to attend the public arts school in my city. Especially with after moving from Florida to New York, Music was the one thing that stayed constant for me so that is where the passion started.

Once I hit 8th grade and got into the art school, I started to notice that there weren’t a lot of black students or males who played the flute which at first discouraged me a lot to keep playing the flute or take music seriously. The main turning point in my life was when one day, my jazz band teacher Mr. Encarnacion recommended on the Eastman community school of music Pathway program which was an audition based program where inner city students who played music could take courses and private lessons for free at Eastman school of music with top philharmonic orchestra players. I decided to audition and surprisingly got in! So I spent my four years of high school taking classes, private instruction, masterclasses and ensembles at Eastman.

During my time in high school was the time when I became super in depth with classical music and dance. So most of my time was divided by either going after school to Eastman or being apart of dance productions. Once my senior year came around, I thought that going to school for Music Education or Classical performance was the move and decided on attending SUNY Fredonia. During my first year there, I quickly realized that I was not passionate about classical music and more into composition and the music I listen to on the regular like Rnb and jazz; so I made the decision to transfer to Berklee college of music with support from the North America tour scholarship. When I entered into Berklee my second year, I quickly switch from studying classical music intensely to learning about jazz, Neo-soul music and songwriting. I feel like I became the artist that I am today because of Berklee providing me with the jazz knowledge, learning about different cultures and incorporating them into my own music and being the first student to graduate with the Berklee/Boston conservatory Dance minor.

Along with being a writer and artist, my senior year I finally realize that my main two goals were to open a dance company where I am the sole choreographer AND composer and to be able to go to my community and others where I can inspire students and black students most importantly and show that playing music and playing the flute can provide so much joy to your life like how it did to me. After graduating from Berklee, I moved to Brooklyn, NY where I attended NYU for my master’s in Music theory and composition with a concentration in songwriting. My 2-3 years there was life-changing to my artistry. I spent most of my time learning about music in the past that shape how we listen to music today, writing music, performing with my band, and gigging with around the city with artists like Desmond Child and getting opportunities to perform with Solange. I am now based in LA (moved about a month ago) and focusing on collaborating with any and everybody and devoting time to writing and gain experience as session musician.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been an easy road esp in the beginning of my music upbringing with moving 1k miles away from my hometown after my parent separated and then trying to figure out if I should even keep doing music because of people always commenting that I am pretty different from the other flute players in my school. The other struggle was finances and figuring out how I would afford a nice flute for college and even how to afford going to school post-high school. Luckily many organizations gratefully help out and helped finance my passion for music.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Jazz and Neo-soul Flautist and songwriter. A lot of my playing is influenced by gospel, jazz, middle eastern and Indian music. I would say that performing as a flautist is my top interest/ career with having opportunities to play in philharmonic orchestras based in Rochester, Boston and Spain, Desmond Child, Solange and DOMI. I am also a songwriter and specialize in folk/pop and rnb, I love writing for other artists and for my own band. Along with music, I am a contemporary dancer and was apart of a dance company called paradise moves based in Boston. I also incorporate my choreography into my music so there is a music and visual aspect to it.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I feel like the top two lessons I’ve learned throughout my journey as been finding a middle ground of saying yes to every opportunities and say no so I can preserve my mental health. Also that people’s criticisms in the arts are so small compared to the gift that you have been blessed with.

Pricing:

• Record flute for you tracks – $50-$100

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.jamichaelfraziermusic.com
• Instagram: @jamichaelfrazier
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamichael123
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZmjxYGRItUamEKHqIlHY6g

Image Credits:
Imran Omar Bill Hickey Kamva Nombembe