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can’t remember if it was a requirement, but I was excited to join the middle school band as
were most of my close friends. I chose the baritone saxophone. I was a pretty hefty ... no, the
label at the time was “husky” pre-teen back then and even so, the baritone sax was too much to
handle for me. And lugging it back and forth from school was a chore, although I loved the
tone it produced. I switched instruments and started playing the tenor sax and became quite
good actually.

My band teacher, trombonist John Watson, had played with the Count Basie band, so he was a
very serious instructor. If you messed up in his class you might find a mouthpiece headed in
your direction!

My mother also took me to downtown Chicago to take guitar lessons for a while. I also took
piano lessons as part of an outreach
program at Concordia College and
taught myself how to play the
xylophone, which was a gift from the
manager of a band I was playing in
during my teens ‘till college.

LL: You’ve had quite a varied career;
in broadcast, as an agent, as a voice
over talent, and as an independent
recording artist! Can you walk us
through it chronologically please?

BLJ: How does that old say’n start.. “A
Jack of all trades”! Well, I fell in love
with radio while listening to radio
station WVON - “The Voice of the
Negro”. I just loved everything about
that station.. the music, the
personalities, it was everything to our
community at that time and I wanted
to be a part of it. I eventually got on air
there doing “High School News” but
that wasn’t a real job and didn’t last
too long but it planted a seed inside me
which has blossomed quite beautifully
if I must say so myself!

After graduating college, I “stumbled”
into becoming Chicago’s first Black
owned full-service talent agency… on Michigan Ave, no less! The agency owner thing was
nowhere on my radar at all, but I was convinced by a friend from college to go into business
with her. However, when it came time to sign the papers on the office space, she spaced! I ran
the agency for several years before relinquishing the reins to the agents who worked there. I
gained so much knowledge about the entertainment business and had a hand in the making of
some admirable careers. I had a wonderful support system at that time, and I couldn’t have
accomplished the things we did without them. They know who they are, and I will be forever
grateful for their support. I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.