Driven to inspire others with a message of altruism, joy and compassion, his music has run the gamut of genres and styles, including jazz, mystical pop rock, alternative and indie.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL, September 11, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Jay "Blue Jay" Jourden has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Long dedicated to changing the world through music, Mr. Jourden has found success as an award-winning producer, performer, recording artist and songwriter. Driven to inspire others with a message of altruism, joy and compassion, his music has run the gamut of genres and styles, including jazz, mystical pop rock, alternative and indie. With nearly five decades of experience in the music scene to his credit, Mr. Jourden has become convinced of the power of music to heal those in need and promote a sense of unity that the world desperately needs.
Currently active as the head of the music department at Global Film Studio Inc., Mr. Jourden is primarily responsible for music video editing, as well as writing and producing film scores. Working closely with various international film companies, he has invested much of his energy recently on producing the original score for Bruno Pischiutta's long-awaited mega-film project, which goes by the working title of "The Trilogy." Filmed in the south of France and Greece, "The Trilogy" is set to encompass three feature-length films and one documentary feature with Daria Trifu, Executive Producer.
As an active musician since the 1970s, Mr. Jourden drew from the inspiration of his mother, a prominent jazz singer. Following his initial forays in the dance genre, during which time he wrote "Wounded Knee" in 1972 and performed a number of concerts organized by the Native American movement, his career continued on its current trajectory into rock, blues, country and jazz. Since then, he has performed in numerous concerts both domestically and internationally, with innumerable radio and television appearances to his name. Likewise dedicated to advocacy, Mr. Jourden has put on hundreds of benefit shows for marginalized groups, including for the American Indian Movement, the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness and the No Nukes Concert Series. Most notably, he also performed at shows for the presidential campaign of Ross Perot during the 1990s, and at West Fest before 46,000 concert-goers in 2009.
Branching out into commissioned work for various clients in the 1990s, Mr. Jourden's current band, Hot Traxx, is composed of several all-star musicians, including Johnny Piantadosi, Margo Buccini, Claudette King and Tyrone Vaughan. His latest song, "We Need to Know," received a nomination for Best Vocal Event by the Josie Music Awards, and won the Best Music in a Music Video Award from the 11th Annual Global Non-Violent Film Festival in 2022.
The Josie Music Awards also nominated Mr. Jourden for Best EP and Social Impact Song of the Year in 2023. In addition to his eight nominations for various categories at the International Red Carpet Awards in the Netherlands, Mr. Jourden has also received a wealth of additional accolades celebrating his music. Most impressively, in honor of his voluminous contributions to the arts and as a talented songwriter in his own right, Mr. Jourden has been inducted as a voting member of The Recording Academy, which hosts the annual Grammy Awards.
In a career filled with highlights, Mr. Jourden is most proud to have organized and performed on behalf of various social movements, including during the Longest Walk – a five-month-long march by Native American tribes to protest threats to tribal lands and water rights. A dedicated advocate of innumerable causes, he is also the co-founder of the World Freedom Project and Rock the Planet tour, an advisor to Earth Day Global, and a board member of Musicians & Artists For World Peace. Looking toward the future, Mr. Jourden hopes to continue organizing a 10-city tour with Claudette King, with whom he and Tyone Vaughan have recently collaborated on an album. Likewise, he aspires to continue building upon his career in the music and film industries.
About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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