R&R Deep Dive: Vocal Jazz: The 7 Virtues: Seven details selecting a vocal jazz chart

John Stafford II

National Vocal Jazz R&R Chair

John Stafford II is the Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, and Co-Coordinator of the Music Department at Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). Professor Stafford was a 2015 recipient of the John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award for outstanding teaching and leadership at the community college level. Also, Stafford was the recipient of the Henry Louis Award for Teaching Excellence at KCKCC in 2020 (our Faculty of the Year award). He has also received two other teaching awards from KCKCC for Recruitment and Teaching Excellence. Previously, he was appointed at Millikin University, Eastern Illinois University, and Danville Area Community College. He holds degrees from Millikin University, Bowling Green State University, and has done additional doctoral studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Among his current professional activities, Professor Stafford currently serves as the National Repertoire and Resources Vocal Jazz Chair of the American Choral Directors Association. Since 2014, Professor Stafford has served as the Choral Director of Community Christian Church (architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright) in Kansas City, MO. In June 2022, he will make his Carnegie Hall debut conducting Justin Binek’s jazz mass entitled, Missa Lucis, for choir and small jazz ensemble. In May 2024, he will perform the same work in Honolulu, Hawaii; both performances produced by Mid-America Productions. His arrangements are published through The Lorenz Corporation and Anchor Music Publications. He has also recently presented at the 2021 and 2022 National Conferences of the Jazz Education Network about Choral/Vocal Jazz Voice Matching and about African-American Performance Practice with the national music education curriculum. Other recent musical activities has included singing background vocals for Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Ben Folds, plus performing with multiple professional choral ensembles in the Kansas City area.

Professor Stafford directs, The Standard, the award-winning contemporary vocal jazz ensemble from Kansas City Kansas Community College. They have been invited to perform at the national conferences of the Jazz Education Network, the American Choral Directors Association, and the National Association for Music Education.

The Standard has also been selected to perform at the Southwestern Divisional Conference of the American Choral Directors Association, Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop, the New York Voices Jazz Festival, the Real Group Festival, and the New York City Jazz Festival at Jazz at the Lincoln Center.

The Standard has also received a number #1 rating at the University of Northern Colorado/Greeley Jazz Festival. Within the last five years, members of The Standard have won sixteen DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards for Outstanding Performance (for Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Blues/Pop/Rock and Latin Ensemble), Live Engineered Recording, Studio Engineered Recording, and Outstanding Soloist in the Community College category. Two of those DownBeat awards included being the 2020 Community College Winner for Blues/Pop/Rock Ensemble and 2020 Community College Co-Winner for Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble.

In December of 2018, The Standard released their first studio recording, Feelin’ Good, and the album has been played on radio stations throughout the Midwest. In September 2020, The Standard has digitally released their first single recording of Justin Binek’s composition, Reparations. In October 2021, the ensemble will release their second studio album, entitled Coal and Diamonds. The group has shared the stage with such highly acclaimed artists as Take 6, The New York Voices, m-pact, Säje, Carmen Bradford, Dianne Reeves, and Marilyn Maye. All of the ensemble’s recordings will now be published through ARC (Artist Recording Collective) Recording Label.