ISLAND BREEZES

Jennifer Rosemary Pollard, was born in Barbados on November 20th, 1971 to parents who loved the arts.

Jenn comes from a family rich in the appreciation of the arts. “Her dad is a fan of great literature and music. He loves singing and taught himself to play the flute. Her mother, a teacher, used to sing at churches, and was the assistant choir director at the school where she taught. While attending primary school, where her aunt Hazel who’s also a writer taught, she started a school magazine in which the essays, plays, short stories and poetry of students were featured. Her family emphasized enriched verbal expression as a very important thing.”
Jennifer wrote sporadically throughout her childhood to adolescence but the deeper growth of her writing really took place during her adulthood, particularly after a particularly enriching five-week vacation in New York (2000), spent immersed in music and art.

“My poetic inspiration is from so many things, she says, but essentially it comes from deep feelings and these feelings may be evoked through the experience of love, art, music, nature and basically experiencing the various things that make up the fabric of life. Also, a lot of my writing comes out of the need to heal myself.” she says.

Jennifer hopes to publish a book of poetry some time in the near future and maybe even a spoken word CD. In addition to flowing in poetry, she writes reflective prose. She has won awards for her poetry at the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA), Barbados. Of special note are her silver awards in 2006 for "Tenderly a Dream" and "There is a Sister Who Does Not Feel." Having been a first time entrant in 2005, she won a bronze award the incentive prize for that year with a piece called, "While She Slept", which was a spontaneous response to a nude painting by visual artist, Omowale Stewart. In 2007, a bronze was also achieved for a piece called, A Dying Place.
Jennifer is warm, broadly concerned, widely interested, heartfelt, intense, loving and enjoys a good laugh. Friends have described her as deep, expansive in her thinking, very encompassing and detailed in her concern for those who are dear to her.

Jazz as poetic inspiration?

Last year (2008) she wrote a little poem (or you could call it a song), inspired by Kenny Burrell’s Listen to the Dawn and there’ve been more recent musical experiences that have been very evocative unto causing her to write. There are two that she wrote shortly after that year 2000 trip to New York. One is called Jazzmine and the other Joyspring. "I don’t know if they are my best works but they speak to how I feel about Jazz and my favorite standard Joyspring and in some sense they’re very personal. she says. She particularly love's Joyspring because of the sense of peace, beauty, lightness, joy, transcendence and all things good which it conveys.
“I am sure they’re many more directly Jazz-inspired poems to come. I recall the first time I heard I Remember Clifford, it was on Arturo Sandoval’s tribute to Clifford Brown, whose music I also love (I am a great trumpet fan because of its soaring quality). I cried so much. It still makes me cry because it’s so evocative of the beauty of the man and I believe that there’s a poem within me somewhere that relates to this tune."

“What more can I say? Jazz is a feeling, as many musicians have said.
“It’s about every nuance in the rhythm of life and in some sense poetry is very much like that although there are certain things that only music can express. Jazz is also so very healing and I hope to God that there’s something healing within my poetry as people experience it.”

To visit Jeniifer Pollard's website CLICK HERE


Joe Byrd, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and has been passionate about guitar from age of 10.
After recognizing his unwavering interest in music, Joe’s father purchased his first electric guitar for his 12th birthday. From that point on, Joe would rarely be seen without a guitar in his hands.

By the age of 15, he began playing with older musicians in a local clubs and realized that he loved performing and writing songs. This passion led him to be involved in every high school music show as a featured musician or in a backup band for the regular talent shows, supported by the school.
Joe sought out any opportunities to perform anywhere he could.

After graduating from high school, he immediately went on tour with a rock and blues band. He decided to make music his life, but also wanted to attend college to get a degree in commercial art. He began to fall in love with jazz and formed a jazz band with a close friend who played piano.

His musical influences include, R&B, Gospel, Rock, Fusion, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban jazz and Classical.

Soon, Joe began to be sought out for various recording projects as a studio musician. He eventually met a jazz clarinet player from Detroit and was given access to his studio for creating and co-writing other projects.

Joe went on to perform with artists such as Gerald Levert, Angela Bowfield, Kenny Latimore, Chante Moore as well as opening for many other nationally known artists.
Joe moved to Los Angeles in the fall of 2005 to pursue better opportunities in music and explore avenues to get into TV and film music production.

He has released four Cds and is currently producing music for other vocal artists and well as working on a new Cd to be released in the summer of 2009.

To Visit Joe Byrd's website CLICK HERE