For years, Barbara Jean has established herself at the forefront of the musical community for her prowess in the way of jazz vocals.

Having put herself on display as a member of several local jazz and big band-styled outlets, and through the release of her own original compositions on two already released albums, Jean may be considered a face of the jazz scene in the immediate area.

However, her abilities extend beyond the realm of strictly jazz, as she has also proven herself well-versed in the avenues of country and rock music. The following is a brief transcription of an interview between The Post-Journal and Jean in an effort to highlight the origins and fruits of her talent, as well as her current and future endeavors:

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P-J: How did you come to understand and appreciate your natural ability as a vocalist?

Jean: I came from a musical family. My sister is a gifted pianist and my mother was a cellist for the city of Jamestown back when it had an orchestra. We were very involved in the church when I was a youngster. We had a family quartet that used to sing at church, and so I learned to sing various music parts when I was very young. My mother actually told me that I knew how to sing before I knew how to speak. The first solo I ever sang was the hymn “In the Garden” when I was somewhere between 5 and 9. I sang it for my grandfather, who was quite ill at the time, because it was his favorite hymn; and from there I got the bug. I have enjoyed all kinds of music all my life.

P-J: How has that passion for all things music manifested in your life, both past and present?

Jean: Aside from my singing in the church, I was also involved in high school choir and band. Just as an interesting side note: the piano player I’ve been working with for the past five years, Dalt Berringer, was actually my junior school music teacher at Southwestern. For a while, I was actually playing bass, as well. I love the Great American Songbook, and was especially inspired by artists like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Doris Day. And then Beatlemania came along and I found that I wanted to be just like Paul McCartney; so that’s why I picked up the bass. I started out as a young adult playing bass in a lot of rock and country bands out in Arizona. I also lived in Las Vegas for a while, so I played there and a few other places. My husband, Steve Strickland, and I also traveled as a duo for a while, and then one thing led to another and we moved back to Jamestown in 1987. After that I filled in with the Germaine and Pappalardo Big Band quite a bit back in the ’90s, and sang for a number of years with Razz and Friends.

P-J: What would you say are some of the highlights of your performance and recording career?

Jean: It’s been really great to be a part of the music community in this area; I’ve had so many opportunities. I’ve played in the Road Scholar programs as Chautauqua Institution, where you stay at the Athenaeum Hotel for a week and they have structured classes, lectures and field trips. I’ve always enjoyed being a part of that program. I was also a member of an original country group called Gotham Rose. Jeff Lewis was the lead singer, and we got to do some great shows with that group. We opened for country stars like George Jones, Trace Adkins and Toby Keith; and that was a great experience. I also have the distinction of being the last person to perform at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater before they started tearing the back off of it, and so that’s a lot of fun. Also, it’s worth noting that I played the Lewiston Jazz Festival three times.

As far as my recordings, I was really lucky to have one of my songs used as a backing track on an episode of “The Young and the Restless.” I’m a member in an independent (artists and repertoire) group out of California called TAXI, and it’s for people who write original music and are trying to make connections with music supervisors for film and TV. They screen the music that you submit and pass it along when they think it’s appropriate for a specific need. So I’ve got a few songs in some music libraries out there that might hopefully end up in the movies someday. It’s cool to have that iron in the fire.

P-J: You’ve already released two albums worth of original compositions. Do you see yourself doing any writing or recording in the immediate future?

Jean: It’s been 10 years since I put out my first CD, and now I’m just getting ready to start doing my third. Right now I’m calling it “It’s Love,” but that’s not set in stone yet. I’m really excited about it, though, because I wrote all the songs and I’ve put together some great musicians from Rochester, Buffalo and New York City to help me record the parts. I had a lot of fun doing that; it’s such a thrill to hear great musicians really apply themselves to songs that you’ve written. I’m going to be playing at one of John Cross’s Friday night jazz shows at Infinity sometime in April or May, and I’m hoping to be able to coordinate that will a CD release.