TY STEPHENS
2006 WINNER: JAZZMOBILE/ANHEUSER-BUSCH SOLO VOCAL COMPETITON
2002 WINNER: 1ST PLACE R&B/Blues Category Of The INTERNATIONAL
SONGWRITING COMPETITION with “SOMETHIN’ STRANGE” *(“Deeper In Fantasy” CD)!!!
1999 WINNER: B.E.T.’s “JAZZ DISCOVERY”---BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE !
1999 WINNER: TCB Magazine/Independent Record Pool Award---BEST R&B ALBUM ! (“Musichameleon” CD)!!!
Elegantly Funky R&B, Jazz and More. Sleek originals and clever cover arrangements. First class live entertainment.
*"...Stephens' voice is like honey... pure and sweet..." (The Philadelphia Tribune)
* “...smooth vocals, strong stage decor and soulfully inspiring dance moves...Ty Stephens is truly an entertainer.” (Venus Magazine (‘02).
*"...above bar... magnificent!" (SoulExpress.net (U.K.)
*Steeped in the finest Classic Soul and Contemporary Jazz traditions, TY STEPHENS is “electrifying live performance...versatility and creative fire...” (Phila. Tribune (2000).
Check out this Bio Page to get aquainted--or re-aquainted with
TY STEPHENS (& SOULJAAZZ):
"AQUARIAN MIND" featuring "WAITING", "ALL THE LOVE", "I NEVER LIKED YOU" and the international favorite "FOUND"....
and “DEEPER IN FANTASY” which features:
“HE CANNOT FIND HIS WAY TO LOVE”
“LOVE PLANET”
“I’M JUST HERE TO BE LOVED” and
“SOMETHIN’ STRANGE”
A dynamic singer-songwriter, TY STEPHENS & SOULJAAZZ (formerly Romantasy) have been OPENING ACT for such notables as ANGELA BOFILL, VANESSA RUBIN and LARRY CORYELL, and most recently at the world-famous SPORTING CLUB in MONTE CARLO: 2011: JANET JACKSON, CARLOS SANTANA, STING, AL JARREAU, LIZA MINNELLI, JOE COCKER, and more...
2010: STEVIE WONDER, GILBERTO GIL, ERYKAH BADU, CHARLES AZNAVOUR, JULIO IGLESIAS, NORAH JONES, JAMIROQUAI, TOM JONES, EROS RAMAZZOTTI, JESSYE NORMAN, ELTON JOHN....
2009: STEELY DAN, GEORGE BENSON, GRACE JONES, SEAL, MOBY, DUFFY, LENNY KRAVITZ, LEONARD COHEN, PRINCE...
2008; CARLOS SANTANA, CELINE DION, DIANA ROSS, ERIC CLAPTON, ALICIA KEYS, JILL SCOTT, CHICAGO, MACY GRAY, CAETANO VELOSO, JAMIE CULLUM...
Released three CDs of original R&B/Jazz/Funk: “MUSICHAMELEON”, “DEEPERIN FANTASY”, and “AQUARIAN MIND”, and TY has recorded many commercial, cast and soundtrack albums with artists and productions including: CHUCK MANGIONE; BABA OLATUNJI; NILE RODGERS (Beavis & Butthead); NICKELODEON TV(Jingles); DAN HARTMANN; RCA RECORDS’ CLASSICAL ARTIST ROSTER; PEGGY LEE; HARRY BELAFONTE; ALYSON WILLIAMS; GWEN McRAE, and the title song for the film “THE LAST FIGHT” starring RUBEN BLADES.
SOME BIO INFO...
“I was mesmerized by dance shows, like SoulTrain and American Bandstand; Variety Television shows and Movie Musicals. I knewall the latest dances, and created productions in my mind and performed shows for my family with my sister, brothers and cousins,singing---not lip-synching---to the latest records. My parents saw this creativity in me and I was fortunate to have a Mom whofollowed-through on what she saw by enrolling me in a Summer Fine Art Program when I was 13, and a Summer Youth Theatre when I was 14. And, the rest, they say, is history!”.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, TY STEPHENS, started his journey in the entertainment business majoring in Fine Art and
performing in school productions at Overbrook High School (the same school as famed alum Will Smith, but years earlier), and, studying theatre and dance with the Philadelphia Youth Theatre at Society Hill Playhouse. He went on to Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, only to quit in his sophmore year to pursue dance full time, dancing with John Hines’ Dance
Theatre of Philadelphia until his move to New York City to join the Rod Rodgers Dance Co., and study at the Alvin Ailey
School, sharpening his skills as a dancer.
After 2 years on the concert dance scene, he began to audition for and perform in musical theatre, with touring shows like “SATIN SWEET” and “THE WIZ”, before landing his 2 Broadway shows: the original casts of “SOPHISTICATED LADIES” (with Gregory Hines, Phyllis Hyman and Judith Jamison) and “MARILYN, AN AMERICAN FABLE” (with Scott Bakula and Allison Reed). While on Broadway, Ty began performing in local piano bars and night clubs, finally focusing on his voice and, subsequently, his songwriting.
“It was a difficult transition for me to make in the theatre world . I had to eliminate or minimize my dance background in order to be taken seriously as a vocalist and songwriter. So, I spent a lot of time away from the Broadway scene as part of that“re-invention”. I continued to write and sing in clubs, and you could find my voice on so many demos, it wasn’t funny! I had no formal voice training, but my natural talents carried me far. I had really studied the recordings I listened to, and it showed when I went up to sing. I learned from Donny Hathaway; Stevie Wonder; Roberta Flack; Al Jarreau; Jeffrey Osborne; Chaka Khan; James Taylor; Joni Mitchell, and Nat “King” Cole, to name a few.”
RECENT/UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
2006:
ALPHA/KAPPA/ALPHA SORORITY GALA in NYC (Jan); IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB (w/Barry Levitt Quartet), NYC: (Jan); "FRANK & FRIENDS" *(as Cab Calloway) at The SUPPER CLUB (NYC) (Feb-Apr); NEW CD “AQUARIAN MIND” released (Mar/Apr); TOSHI KUBOTA TOUR, JAPAN (Apr-Aug)
2005: Ty enjoys a successful one-month engagement at Club Repos in KYOTO, JAPAN (Feb/Mar); joins the London Cast
of The Ray Charles Revue “THE GENIUS OF RAY CHARLES” (June/July); is featured again in Japan at the TAO DRUM
FESTIVAL (July) with Shohei Narabe; DCA PRODUCTIONS’ OUTDOOR CONCERTS in NYC (July); in Eugene, Oregon at the
FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN MUSIC with Dick Hyman (Aug); The BLOOMFIELD HARVEST FESTIVAL, Bloomfield, NJ (Sept);
in Hot Springs, Ark. starring in “SHADES OF HARLEM” (Oct),
and at NYC’s famed IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB featured with the Barry Levitt Trio (Nov).
2004: sees 2 milestones of productions co-written by TY STEPHENS---”SHADES OF HARLEM” celebrates it 20th
ANNIVERSARY with a Gala presentation in Miami, Fla, and “FROM MY HOMETOWN” returns to Off-Broadway at the
Gramercy Theatre to glowing reviews! TY is featured in performance at the 49th SONGWRITER’S HALL OF FAME
SHOWCASE; was Host/Band Leader and Co-Producer of “SINGIN’ NEW JERSEY” Vocalist Competition, and the year
finishes with another New Year’s Eve command performance for the Royal Family Of Morocco!
2003: TY begins work on the his 3rd CD; completes his 3rd tour of Japan with Japanese R&B superstar TOSHI KUBOTA;
his play “FROM MY HOMETOWN” debuts off-Broadway at the Kirk Theatre; he’s featured in 2 stellar performances: at
Carnegie Hall with LIZA MINELLI (in a tribute to Candor & Ebb) and back at B.B. King’s with Black2Broadway’s tribute to
Rhythm & Blues icon RUTH BROWN!
2002: aside from winning the Songwriting Competition, the year included a one-night-only performance in
OKINAWA, JAPAN, feature articles and interviews with VENUS MAGAZINE; THE MONTCLAIR TIMES; WVOF RADIO; NEWS
12 NEW JERSEY and headlining alongside PHOEBE SNOW in a tribute to R&B legend Donny Hathaway
@ B.B.King’s with Black2Broadway.
MORE HIGHTLIGHTS:
“DEEPER IN FANTASY” was chosen ALBUM OF THE MONTH (Nov. ‘01) at www.SOULEXPRESS.net with a great review of
the CD and interview with TY, and “LOVE PLANET” (from that CD) is featured on the STONEGROOVE RECORDINGS
Compliation CD “THE SOUL OF SOLAR RADIO” in the U.K. (Fall 2001). TY and Romantasy were featured in several live
interviews and performances with NEWS 12 NEW JERSEY in their “NEW JERSEY’S TALKING” segment with Lee Leonard.
TY was also featured in a segment on Cable’s DRUM TV with Marcia Fingal (August ‘01) and in the PHILA. MUSIC
CONFERENCE Showcase (June ‘01) at BRAVE NEW WORLD (Phila). He was featured in promotional interviews for German
Radio on JAM FM; on NHK FM in Tokyo, Japan; on KLFM Radio in Victoria, Australia, and for SOULEXPRESS.net in
Finland! *[In May ‘01, TY held promotional interviews in the U.K. on THAMES Radio with Barrie Stone; SOLAR Radio
with Mick Farrer, and BBC Sheffield with Ony Bright, as well as live [tracked] performances at MOONLIGHTING
Nightclub in Soho.] TY contributed his vocal skill to more high-profile projects, including:
the 2nd HADDAWAY album (produced by DESMOND CHILD) and a recording with Jazz great CHUCK MANGIONE!