Stephen L
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Hip Hop, Spirituals, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul
Stephen L
Instruments: Piano
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Hip Hop, Spirituals, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 15-80
Rhythm of Gospel
First nomiated round Stellar Awards
Steinway Education Artist
Nominated Kennedy Center Citizen Award
Proclamation from the City of Memphis/ Executive Director for the Memphis Jazz Workshop
A Memphis native, Stephen L. studied with legendary Jazz pianist Donald Brown at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville before heading to New York City to finish his studies and further hone his skills in some of the most well-known jazz venues in the world. He rounded out his studies with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance from City College in New York City and a Master’s degree in Education from Freed Hardeman University. While living in New York, Stephen has shared the stage with some of Jazz music’s best and brightest including Gregory Porter, Esperanza Spaulding, Billy Kaye and Saul Rubin. In 2012, he released his first album, “Songs in the Key of My Life” for which he won the Rhythm of Gospel Award and was nominated in the first round of the Stellar Awards. In 2018 Stephen was voted Steinway and Sons 2018 Top Music Teacher of the Year by Amro Music Store. And In 2019, he was nominated as a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. Even with his professional accomplishments and performance schedule, Stephen continues to keep students at the forefront. He says, “The students are my priority. I keep them in mind no matter what I’m doing.”
While living in New York, Memphis Jazz Workshop founder Stephen L. had the privilege of meeting and befriending several talented young musicians. Not long after meeting these young musicians, Lee noticed that they were operating at a higher skill level at a very young age compared to their counterparts. They were incredible performers who were hanging with jazz legends at world-renowned jazz clubs, and most were enrolled in performing arts schools. It was very clear these musicians benefitted from extra mentorship, private lessons and group practices – things that the average public school music program cannot provide. “Not everyone wants to be a doctor or lawyer. Some kids want to be professional musicians and make a living playing jazz, and I hope I can help them make their dreams become a reality. A big part of my job is to show students the steps they need to take to achieve their goals and use my personal experiences as an example.” Stephen L. said. “Even if it’s not a professional pursuit, there are so many life skills that you learn in jazz improvisation – confidence, self-motivation, work ethic, time management, self-awareness, critical listening. It’s more than simply learning how to play an instrument.”
There is additional research suggesting that improvisation stimulates the brain in ways that promote resilience, responsiveness, creativity, innovation, my teaching is very important because current research in both education and youth development indicates the strong correlation between music education and the development of strong academic and social/emotional learning outcomes among youth. The results are in: music in general and ensemble training in particular nurture strong social and emotional learning skills, e.g., collaboration, critical thinking, self- discipline, and self-efficacy. Additionally, there are advantages in intellectual development and academic performance, especially in areas related to STEAM (Science, Technology, End recapitulation, among other abilities.
I feel that teaching is not just a job but a calling. After 30 plus years of performing I feel now is the time to share my skills and experience to the next generation of musicians. I believe my job as a teacher is now just to show different methods but to motivate the students to practice and become a lover of the piano. My goals for the student is to measure their own weekly growth. For example, Monday the student will be introduce to a new piece of music. As they look at the music they may feel that it is impossible to learned the by the end of the week. But I explain to them that when a person grow they don't physically see themselves growing overtime it just happens. One has to sleep, eat, etc before the body grows. Same in music one has to practice daily (everyday) before you see results. I job is also to coach the students to success by encouraging them to believe in themselves.
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