JANAE YATES
Janae Yates was born in Pensacola, Florida but currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida. She graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and earned a BM in Jazz Performance from Florida State University. She is proudly obtaining her MM in Jazz Drums at The Juilliard School. Janae has always had a passion for music; getting her first keyboard at the age of 6. She first began playing percussion at age 11 at Lavilla School of the Arts and then auditioned for the Lavilla Jazz Band when she was 12. Inspired by the critically acclaimed film, Chops, which documented the path of the Douglas Anderson Jazz Band winning the Essentially Ellington Competition in the early 2000s, she knew she wanted to have a voice through drums. It became her mission to leave a stinging impact on the jazz community.
Since then, Janae has been a member of NYO Jazz, Ravinia Steins Music Institute, John Lumpkin II Jazz Institute, and has performed at the 72nd Midwest Clinic, Music For All Convention, JEN Conference, Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Jazz Education Network Convention, and Teddy Adams' Future of Jazz Concert. Janae has traveled to Bern, Switzerland to perform at the Bern International Jazz Festival and Marian's Jazzroom. She has performed with the great Ernie Watts, Jimmy Owens, Teddy Adams, Wycliffe Gordon, and Sean Jones and helped win the 42nd annual Downbeat Large Jazz Ensemble Award and the Jacksonville University Jazz Festival. She attended the New School’s Summer Jazz Intensive and was accepted into both prestigious music conservatories, Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School.
Janae recently served as Music Assistant for George Clooney's broadway debut, Good Night, and Good Luck, under Bryan Carter and Daniel Kluger. She has played numerous gigs around town with professional musicians and college musicians. She has been studying with/mentored by John Lumpkin Jr. for six plus years and has been taught/mentored by Ulysses Owens Jr. Janae has also studied with Leon Anderson. Jr., Billy Drummond, and Kenny Washington. She is heavily influenced by drummers, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Elvin Jones. She is very inspired by the lives of successful drummers that have gone to the same schools and lived in the same city as her, such as Jamison Ross and Ulysses Owens Jr.
Janae is also an avid composer. She has created dozens of arrangements and original compositions for her own band, film scores, and for peers in the gaming industry. She has been using DAWS and music notation softwares since she was just 14 years old.
Janae's goal for the future is to use her studies to ameliorate her musicianship, artistry, and character, become an inspiration to those like her who want to use their art to create change in the world, and to serve as an idol for increased representation of black women within the jazz community.