Jazzy Ash (Ashli St. Armant) returns with the classic “Teddy Bear, Turn Around” with a New Orleans take and plenty of socially distanced participation. “The most resilient thing about Black Americans is our ability to find joy in the midst of darkness,” Ashli said. “Here’s a new song and video I made with my community. I hope you enjoy it, and maybe give yourself permission to dance.”
A New Orleans native (with a father from Trinidad), Ashli embodies the melting pot that became NOLA’s signature sound. Now residing in Los Angeles with her family, she is expanding on her mission to build the footprint of jazz for children. Ashli tours the country with her band, Jazzy Ash and the Leaping Lizards, performing jazz for young audiences. Together they have performed at numerous venues, including Lincoln Center and the Sprout Network (NBC), and produced four albums.
Ashli is using her time at home during COVID sheltering to record a series of songs and producing videos to accompany them. “Teddy Bear” joins “All The Pretty Little Horses,” “Hide and Seek,” and “Leap Frog.” Click through this video and you’ll find a host of others when you visit her YouTube channel.
Don’t you wish your family included a professional video editor? Filmmaker Matt Mayers (whose wife handles PR for many of the children’s music artists I’ve covered lo these many years) has shot a series of Star Wars-inspired shorts featuring his daughters, Hannah and Norah. Over the past few years, the elder Norah has been visited by aliens, chased by zombies, on the run from Freddy Kruger, and gained super powers. Last Halloween, she and her neighborhood friends were taunted by a creepy clown. In any case, here’s “Attack of the Hannahs” and keep using the Force, Mayers family.
