J.R. Rhodes

J.R. Rhodes earned her B.A. in music composition from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. Jazz artists Bill Lowe and Anthony Braxton were teachers at Wesleyan who encouraged her to continually grow and evolve her music.

Her full-length albums include I Am (2017), Elixir (2011), AfriQueen Stare (2003), and Songs of Angels (1999). Additional works that demonstrate Rhodes’ creative range are Lullabies (2013), a performance of traditional spirituals, with On the Boards, Seattle; as well as 2 Old Chicks (2005), a 50-piece orchestral film score, created in collaboration with Doris Bartha and Steve Brush. In 2020, J.R. recorded a new single, ‘Spilt Milk’ for the compilation album Songs Collected released by Drums & Wires Recordings. That same year she sang harmony vocals on the folk singer-songwriter, Jim Page’s album Now is the Time. In 2021, she recorded her rendition of the traditional folk song ‘Black is the Colour’ with cellist Lori Goldston.

J.R. is currently working on two new albums. One recording is an album including music inspired by the works of African-American artists Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, Elizabeth Cotten, Langston Hughes and more. The other recording is a collection of songs of African-American heritage including spirituals, slave songs and lullabies.