Sounds of piano, drums and singing were heard throughout the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building on Friday, Feb. 6. Jazz and gospel husband and wife musicians Marcus and Jean Baylor, part of the Baylor Project, entertained UTD students and local Dallas community members as part of their Livin’ On Joy tour.
Growing up, both Jean and Marcus had similar experiences of being surrounded by music. Through their roots in their churches and through their developed interests of singing for Jean and playing drums for Marcus they each started exploring the talent.
“I didn’t grow up thinking that I would be a professional singer,” Jean said. “It’s just something that I love to do, and I always did it. I ended up going the performance route and just fell in love [with] jazz.”
Going their own routes, Jean joined the R&B duo Zhane’ while Marcus joined the jazz band Yellowjackets before eventually coming together to form the Baylor Project in 2013. The two wanted to create a unique experience mixing together sounds influenced by jazz and gospel.
“We’re bringing our individual and collective influences together into one sound called the Baylor Project,” Jean said. “It’s kind of like an ever evolving thing. We kind of really try to just create from an authentic place of where we are in that given time and what we want to express to our audience.”
Now, over ten years later, the group has earned eight Grammy nominations for their albums and continue to share their music through the Livin’ on Joy tour, adding UTD to their list of stops for the first time.
The auditorium was full of a mix of audience members. Many UTD students arrived as part of their course assignments from various classes offered on campus, like Connections in the Arts and Humanities and some jazz piano classes. Many of them have previous interests in music.
“I grew up listening to a lot of music from my dad, so I also wanted to play music because it’s cool,” UTD student Johnny Jiang said. “I’m going [to see the performance] fresh, just seeing how they do, listening to the music and enjoying myself.”
Members of the neighboring community also attended after learning about the event through advertisements online and through word of mouth.
“I just moved here and my cousin invited me [to come],” Ashleigh Giles said. “I’m a big fan of all kinds of music so getting to enjoy it in an intimate evening like this is really good.”
To some, the meaning of this performance resonated more. One eventgoer Javetta Allen described her connection to Jazz. She explained how the genre has been part of her culture and a part of her childhood soundtrack growing up in New Orleans.
The event itself featured a culmination of piano, saxophone, bass, drums and singing. Each musical element was intricately interwoven to create emotions that resonated throughout the audience while also balancing stand alone moments that showcased each musicians’ talent.
The atmosphere of the show was very playful, and featured many moments of audience interactions. The tone of the music shifted from somber slow songs to peppy upbeat tunes.The audience was quite receptive and engaged with the pieces, with visible head nods, laughter, sighs and overall understanding.
“We make music to be able to spread love, joy, happiness and peace and to do our part to give music to the world,” Marcus said. “The audience is just as important as what’s happening on stage. We feed off of one another.”
According to the duo, the tour was created with the intention of creating a space of reprieve from the anxiety and stresses of life.
“[With all the] nonsense that’s happening right now, if you can maintain a measure of joy, even in the storms of life, that will strengthen you until you come out of that place,” Jean said. “Joy gives you strength.”
The event ended with its final notes and a meet and greet with audience members. Many went home with signed records, a relaxed mood and with a new appreciation for the music.
“I especially loved the drumming,” UTD computer science freshman Joey Lent said. “There were a lot of things going on and that was an amazing display of them.”
Reflecting on the event, Jean talks about the importance of students continuing to attend events like these.
For anything to continue and to thrive and to grow, it has to be passed down to the next generation,” she said, “so I think it’s wonderful when the younger folks come in. I think it’s super important that the younger generation hear jazz in an environment where they can really take it in.”
They also provide advice for anyone looking into getting into music themselves.
“It starts with a love and the passion of it first, and then you find your purpose and in which direction you want to do it,” Marcus said. “I think the main thing is just really understanding the source of where a lot of this music comes from. You start with the foundation, and then you start building from there.”
