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 Jean Bayou is a well-known and well-loved member of the DC area songwriting community. From the ridiculous to the sublime, her song titles give fair warning of the ride ahead: Knocking on a Deaf Man's Door, Mammogram, Torture (The Cynic's Vacation), and Your Karma Suits Ya reflect topics Jean sings about with humor, wisdom, and poignancy. She is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (piano and guitar), with a diverse and international musical background.
Jean's use of unusual, and sometimes haunting, guitar tunings and progressions imply worldliness. Her lyrics grab you with observations of comedy and tragedy, and her hummable melodies remain in listeners’ heads long after they've gone home.
Originally from the Hudson Valley in New York State, some of Jean’s early musical influences were semi-locals such as Bob Dylan, The Band, and NRBQ. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in the late 70s, then lived in Benghazi, Libya, and knows that culture well. She says that she missed the 80s and 90s, when she was busy raising Amina, Ali, and Aziza, who all made it successfully to adulthood. Her great cooking and her melodies reflect this assimilation, and she still speaks a little Arabic.
Now living in Annandale, VA, Jean works long hours at an Alexandria patent law firm but still finds time to pursue her musical passions. She’s in her seventh year as President of the Songwriters' Association of Washington (SAW.org), an organization she holds dear for all of the aspiring, inspiring, talented, hard-working, generous, kind and amazing people she has had the pleasure to associate with. Her leadership was recognized when she twice received the WAMMIE award for Executive of the Year given by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA).
Jean’s 2010 WAMMIE-nominated debut CD, Just About Everything, has received rave reviews, and she has graced the stage at the Washington Folk Festival, the Bluemont Fair, the Takoma Park Folk Festival, the Athenaeum in Alexandria, and the Reston-Herndon Folk Club, among others. Jean is also a regular in SAW Showcases at intimate venues such as the Epicure Cafe in Fairfax, and Brewer's Alley in Frederick, MD, where she sometimes accompanyies other songwriters on piano. She is currently recording a new vocal CD, and has another featuring her piano compositions on the horizon.
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