MAMA J MUSIC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Performance / Stage Coach
With over 20 years of live performance experience, B. David helps artists to develop a captivating stage presence and increase their overall effectiveness as performers.
When not improving vocals, Diane is well-known within the Vineyard Church Movement, leading worship concerts around the country.
Ebony shapes the young voices of aspiring R&B and pop singers. When making music, Ebony relies on one central philosophy: keep it real.
With over three decades of working side-by-side with Mama Jan and her own pursuits as a published singer/songwriter, Heidi Huelskoetter brings a wealth of knowledge and hands on experience to the craft of coaching.
Jackson is a young, dynamic professional with experience in event and administrative logistics.
Job Titles:
- Studio Engineer / Musician / Production Team
JOA is a skilled songwriter and musician with credits spanning an array of genres. His early fascination of preserving time to tape established an undeniable artistry and passion for recording. Some of Jesse's credits include Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, PNAU, Automatic Loveletter, Demi Lovato, Forever The Sickest Kids, Cash Cash, White Tie Affair, Westlife, Cassadee Pope, Kasi Jones, Jesse Jo Stark and many more.
His Story
Jesse was immersed in music at a young age, memorizing every lyric and melody to his VHS collection of Disney Sing-A-Longs. At the age of 10, Jesse picked up the guitar and never looked back. He formed his own band and began gigging, all the while still in middle school. Jesse found his love for recording at 15, when his mom gave him a multi-track cassette recorder and he began to demo his ideas. At age 19, he joined a touring rock band, Travisty Theory, and shared the stage with acts such as Sevendust, Lifehouse, Hoobastank, and Cypress Hill. This experience fueled the fire for recording again and soon after, Jesse and his father built a studio in Atlanta, where he produced local bands and began self-producing his own records, releasing them under the moniker Like Clockwork.
JOA landed his first major label gig at age 23, engineering for the production team Matt Mahaffey & Jeff Turzo, two of his personal musical heroes. Jesse then took on a studio management and house engineering gig for songwriters Scott Cutler & Anne Preven, and eventually joined their publishing company, Pulse, as a staff writer for 3.5 years. During this time Jesse co-wrote with Bonnie McKee, Demi Lovato, Katharine McPhee, Ollie Goldstein, and Paloma Faith, just to name a few.
Mama Jan has played a significant role in shaping numerous award show performances, and she received a Grammy nomination for the song "Born to be Somebody" written by Diane Warren and performed by Justin Bieber for Paramount's documentary "Never Say Never." In all, over 10,000 vocalists, musicians and producers turn to Mama Jan for her special brand of technical artistry, tough-love training and music industry expertise.
The personal care Mama Jan provides artists is rivaled only by the vocal mastery she shares in the studio and when touring around the world. All of which make Mama Jan, who Billboard named one of the top 100 women in music business, the real deal and a true luminary inside the craft she loves.
Jan Smith, dubbed Mama Jan by Usher, is the world's premier vocal producer and instructor. She has over 30 years experience in the music industry as both an artist and a mentor. Mama Jan is a Grammy nominated producer and a Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee.
In addition to being a creative force for vocal excellence, Mama Jan is a visionary executive working across entertainment to reboot the music industry into an artist-driven business. As CEO of Mama J Music, she works tirelessly to fuse artist development, technology and music education into a successful career roadmap for all musicians.
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With more than 25 years of experience as a teacher, singer and performer, Melissa is passionate about helping aspiring vocalists and songwriters overcome obstacles and realize their full potential.
With more than 25 years of experience as a teacher, singer and performer, Melissa has a valuable knowledge and continued involvement in the music business. She is passionate about helping aspiring vocalists and songwriters overcome obstacles and realize their full potential.
Her Story
Melissa Ellen started out as a student of Jan Smith for 5 years when she began an apprenticeship and later joined the staff as a vocal coach. For the next 13 years Melissa trained numerous artists at Jan Smith Studios while continuing to pursue her own music, eventually recording two full-length albums. Her performances have included sharing the stage with notable artists such as Toni Braxton, Caron Wheeler, India Arie, and Geoff McBride.
In 2004 Melissa was selected to travel to China with Mama Jan to participate in the first contemporary music forum in Beijing. She is a proud voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammys), the Songwriter Hall of Fame, and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Melissa has received awards for her teaching and songwriting, and co-managed a booking agency; all of which has enhanced her knowledge to further educate artists on how to make a living in the music industry.
In 2007 Melissa moved to Tennessee where she performed with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra Celebration Chorus, the Settles Connection, and Melinda Doolittle of American Idol. She continued coaching artists there and became a pro speaker for the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Melissa also conducted workshops for Indie Connect where she was a faculty member.
After nearly a decade in Nashville, Melissa returned home to both Atlanta and to Jan Smith Studios, where she continues to coach aspiring artists.
With a degree in Classical Guitar Performance and published, world-renowned techniques, Peter is a highly sought after guitar instructor.
Samantha's mission is to inspire vocalists to find their unique sound and artistry while focusing on the body as an instrument.
Samantha Bailey is proud to be a vocal coach and piano instructor with Jan Smith Studios. Her mission is to inspire vocalists to find their unique sound by experiencing their instrument at optimal function and effectiveness.
Her Story
Samantha Bailey has been singing, dancing, and acting since the age of three making her a triple threat in the world of entertainment. As the great niece of Dr. Bobbie Bailey (Founder of the Georgia Music Awards and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame), music is literally in Samantha's DNA.
Growing up in the church, Samantha's talents were honed early on as a choir and ensemble soloist. She competed and won numerous International Teen Talent competitions at solo, ensemble and choir levels, and honed her skills as a musical theater instructor, private school chorus teacher, and a professional worship leader.
Samantha is a consummate dancer having performed ballet, jazz, hip hop, and modern styles with the Georgia Dance Conservatory and the Atlanta Ballet. She has instructed dance technique and provided choreography for students at the British Academy of Performing Arts (BAPA). In addition to her career as a professional dancer, Samantha has also performed in leading roles for numerous musical theatre productions. Her experiences therein led her to vocal coach, co-direct, and choreograph BAPA's musical theater troupes, and ultimately winning national competitions at Access Broadway in vocals, dance, and theatre.
Still, at the heart and soul of this triple-threat, there lives a recording artist and worship leader. Samantha Bailey is an accomplished pop/R&B recording artist having worked with Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer, Kendrick Dean. She continues to lead worship and finds great joy in sharing her zeal for enhancing the skills of other artists in their pursuit of happiness, therein finding her own.
Having over 17 years of live performance and recording studio experience, Vanessa fosters the fresh voices of the Atlanta music scene with authenticity and soul.
Her Story
Starting out as a towheaded tomboy, Vanessa was heavily influenced by her three older brothers who were all avid musicians. She immersed herself in grunge, classic rock, soul, Motown and 90's pop. Over the years, she built a strong foundation for a career in the music industry with her education being both trained and experiential. This soulful singer has spent countless hours in the recording studio, not only on her own projects but as a session vocalist for local producers and songwriters, including the creation of vocal sample packs with Cymatics. Vanessa's live performance background is extensive and diverse, having sang with the Atlanta-based psychedelic funk band, Voodoo Visionary, as well as with church worship teams, as a solo artist, and even landing a spot in the final four of The Voice on Snapchat.
In 2009, Vanessa became a vocal client of Mama Jan where she continued studies for 6 years. In early 2015 she joined the studio team as Executive Administrative Assistant. In addition to managing all things admin at Jan Smith Studios and assisting Mama Jan, Vanessa remained passionate towards her artistry in music and the process of creating. In 2020, after completing the advanced professional certificate program at Berklee College of Music and a mentorship at Jan Smith Studios, Vanessa was invited on staff as a vocal coach. It is there she continues to share her heart through music and foster the fresh voices of the Atlanta music scene.