Sigma Alpha Iota

P A N P I P E S Spring 2021 5 MUSIC NOTES S oprano Janinah Burnett, an initiate of Zeta Phi Chapter at Spelman College, is proud to step into the spotlight with the release of her debut album, Love the Color of Your Butterfly. On this richly eclectic project, the vocalist breaks fresh ground and ever-so-naturally transcends traditional genres and parameters in marrying jazz and opera. Inspired by her father - legendary drummer Carl Burnett - Janinah presents Love the Color of Your Butterfly as a particular nod to her mother, Imani Constance. Burnett reminisces upon the supportive words of her mother ("you can't be another butterfly, you have to love the color of your butterfly") by exploring the boundless musical elements of her life and career, including opera, art song, oratorio and the American indigenous music genres: spirituals, blues, jazz, and soul. Love the Color of Your Butterfly became available in February 2021 from Clazz Records (CLZ001). e origins of Love the Color of Your Butterfly dates back to a 2016 performance at the Cell eatre in New York City, during which Burnett pushed the boundaries between the classical idioms she was famous for and the jazz passion in her heart - a hybrid she now refers to as "clazz." She performed transcendent genre-blending versions of Cole Porter's What Is is ing Called Love (fused with segments of Habañera from Carmen) and E Lucevan Le Stelle from Puccini's Tosca – both of which appear on the album. Supporting this project from its very inception is longtime friend and visionary, Grammy-winning drummer Terreon "Tank" Gully, producer of this thirteen-track collection of rejuvenated gems. Bringing this album to fruition is a powerhouse ensemble featuring pianist/organist Sullivan Fortner, Grammy- nominated pianist and arranger Christian Sands, pianist Keith Brown, vocoder player Casey Benjamin, and bassists Luques Curtis and Ben Williams. e emotional core of Love the Color of Your Butterfly is the suite of Duke Ellington tunes, including a sensual vocal and jazz trio rendering of In a Sentimental Mood and two from the piano legend's Sacred Concert recordings series. e collection includes the rumbling, tempo shiing Creole Girl (from Leslie Adams' Night Songs song cycle) thoughtfully arranged by Gully, and a soulful fusion of the spiritual and American Civil Rights anthem Keep You Eyes on the Prize. e vocalist wraps the set with a haunting rendition of the Billie Holiday- popularized Strange Fruit, e Gershwins' longing lament I Loves You Porgy, and a spirited rendition of Honeysuckle Rose - the first solo song Janinah performed with the vocal jazz ensemble as a student at Hamilton High School. Releasing this album in early 2021, on the heels of 2020's renewed spotlight on systemic racism in America, makes this a powerful universal statement of social consciousness. In some ways, the project is an extension of Burnett's acclaimed multimedia performance piece I, Too Sing America: An Artistic Lament for the Fallen, which features her own writings and includes photography, art songs, freedom songs, and spirituals. e show is rooted in education, activism, committed artistic expression, and healing while honoring those who have been killed due to social injustice. Janinah Burnett chose to take the path toward classical music while at Spelman and continued her studies in vocal performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music, where she received a Masters Degree in Music. Directly following graduation from Eastman, Janinah thrilled audiences as Mimí in Baz Lurhmann's La Bohème on Broadway in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, which led to her performance on the Tony Awards as well as her winning the LA eater Alliance's Ovation Award. Shortly thereaer, Janinah joined the Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Carmen and La Bohème, and has since returned for Parsifal, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Rondine, e Enchanted Island, Iphigénie en Tauride, Elektra, and Manon. She made her MET debut as Bianca in La Rondine and has since performed extensively portraying such roles as Bess in Porgy and Bess, Violetta in La Traviata, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Norina in Don Pasquale, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Marguerite in Faust, Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Micaëla in Carmen (to name a few) in over 25 international and domestic cites. Zeta Phi Initiate Releases Debut Album

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