Published: April 2005
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When singer JoJo David, the longtime vocal director of BC’s student jazz ensemble, took to the Robsham Theater stage on February 17, he brought to his performance decades of musical experience as a composer and vocalist, and insights wrought from a long battle with cancer.
When he was diagnosed in 1998, a tumor was crushing David’s vocal cords, and doctors told him the nerve damage was irreparable. Following extensive treatment, including a bone marrow transplant, he slowly regained what Ron Della Chiesa, the host of “The Jazz Songbook” on Boston’s WGBH-FM, called his “lyric voice,” adding, “You feel when you listen to him that he’s lived the stories.”
The video features an interview with David and music from his February performance—with Adam Birnbaum ’01 on piano—of songs from the pair’s new album Small Hours, a collection of modern ballads and jazz classics. Joining them on stage is Garth Stevenson on bass.
JoJo David is a vocal coach for the BC bOp! jazz ensemble and associate director of the Boston College Liturgical Arts Group.