Jazz Port Townsend Artistic Director John Clayton has added jazz vocalist Jean Baylor, and drummer Marcus Baylor to the 2018 JPT Faculty!

Grammy nominated artists Jean and Marcus Baylor stormed onto the jazz scene on their debut CD “The Journey”, cracking the top 10 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. Their follow-up, “The Baylor Project,” has been nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2018.

Jean, a “Jersey Girl”, was introduced to jazz in college as a Vocal Performance Major at Temple University, where she was heavily influenced by artists such as Carmen McCrae, Jimmy Scott, and Shirley Horn. She subsequently made her mark as one-half of the platinum recording duo, Zhane´. In addition to continued development of her craft, Jean has expanded into composing, arranging, producing, and band leading. She has been a featured guest artist in performances and recordings with Yellowjackets, Kenny Garrett, Marcus Miller and legendary bassist, Buster Williams. Well-equipped with an agile mezzo-soprano range, Jean combines a fresh, whimsical approach to phrasing with clever improvisation resulting in singing of such vocal purity that she embraces the soul.

Marcus, a St. Louis native, is widely recognized as the former member and drummer of the Grammy Award winning jazz quartet, Yellowjackets. While studying and graduating from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, he performed and recorded with musical icons Cassandra Wilson, John Scofield, and Kenny Garrett. Since then, Marcus has come into his own as a composer, arranger, producer and bandleader. With his natural feel, creative use of space and innovative ability to tell a story, his musicianship and improvisation are those of a seasoned musician.