| Darryl Tookes
Performing Artist, Composer & Arranger
Darryl Tookes composes and sings songs about the things
that matter: love, pain, joy, and loyalty. Wrapped in soaring melody
and lyrics that go straight to the heart. Uplifting songs that make
the spirit soar, romantic songs of loyalty between a man and a woman,
haunting songs for the broken hearted, sexy songs that set the feet
to dancing, peaceful songs that reassure the spirit, and gentle
songs that bring men and women, boys and girls home to the goodness
in their hearts.
Upon hearing his evocative music, listeners say, “We
see paintings.” Like a soaring arrow sheathed in melody, Darryl’s
voice penetrates straight to the heart. So many people tell Darryl,
“When I listen to New England Morning, the music transports
me to a place I want to be.”
Darryl’s father, the legendary Florida A&M
golf and football coach Hansel Tookes, isn’t surprised by
such comments. He will tell you Darryl’s been composing beautiful,
upbeat songs since he was eight. No wonder! Music flows in his genes.
Darryl’s grandmother Benveneta Washington was a star on Broadway,
signed to Warner Brothers for films, and a vocal soloist with the
Hall Johnson Choir, while his mother Leona Washington was a classical,
jazz and sacred song chanteuse, who left the stage for her family.
Born in the Bronx, but growing up in Tallahassee,
Darryl as a young boy would compose songs at his piano and then
go out into the world and connect with people— doing well
at whatever he did--making friends, excelling at school and sports,
and performing his music. At Florida State University High School
he had a band, Devotion. His friend Jim Smith, acting as driver,
would load the band up in his pick up truck and off they went, wherever
people wanted to hear Darryl Tookes. After graduating from Florida
A&M magna cum laude in physics, Darryl was accepted at MIT and
at medical school, but the siren call of the Muses to sing and compose
triumphed. He moved to New York City to make his way in the music
world and stay true to his inner voice—and has remained for
over two decades the person his friends and fans know and love,
a loyal friend, an accomplished musician who extends a helping hand,
a fun person with an easy way about him, and a deep thinker who
believes that the spiritual and the secular coexist on the same
natural plane. He is a devoted husband and father to his wife and
four children with whom he lives in Connecticut.
The journey continues and what a road it’s
been so far. Blessed with a four-octave range, perfect pitch, and
a voice that can do almost anything, Darryl’s composed, sung
and performed across the musical spectrum. He’s performed
at the White House, toured with Sting, sung on two Grammy award
winning West Side Story albums, worked with about every major performing
and recording artist in the business, and is also an award winning
composer and performer of vocal solos for thousands of commercial
spots on radio and TV.
All along he has continued to compose, arrange and
perform music in the tradition of his heroes, the grand masters
Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Michel LeGrand, Henry Mancini,
Burt Bacharach and Duke Ellington. His discography includes five
solo albums on both major and independent labels. It takes an accomplished
virtuoso and craftsman to make it sound so effortless. Ambient Recording’s
Mark Conese, says, “Darryl Tookes and Joseph Joubert are about
as talented as any two humans get!”
Darryl's Philosophy of Life
"When one person has given you absolute love,
then it's enough to give it back for the rest of your life to everyone
you meet. If you've been lucky enough to have that from anybody,
then just share."
–Darryl Tookes, 2002
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Joseph Joubert
Accompanist & Orchestrator
Joseph Joubert began playing the piano at the age
of eight. Study with Dora Zaslavsky commenced at age fifteen. Within
one year he made his Town Hall debut with full orchestra. After
advanced study and graduation from the Manhattan School of Music
with Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees, Joseph won the
National Association of Negro Musicians award. Success in other
competitions resulted in performances of concerti with full orchestra
and participation in master classes offered by such virtuosos as
Andre Watts, John Browning, and Eugene Istomin.
The original conductor for the Three Mo' Tenors tour,
he is the arranger/ conductor of the Three Mo' Tenors recording.
He was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 as producer/ arranger/ keyboardist
for the Centurymen's Beautiful Star CD in the category of Best Classical
Cross-Over Album. Mr. Joubert has appeared in Carnegie Hall, Avery
Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall and performed with the Manhattan
Symphony, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, theNew Philharmonia. For two
seasons he served as staff pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Company's
revivial of Porgy and Bess and the company opened featuring him
as pianist "Jasbo Brown."
Mr. Joubert has enjoyed success in musical direction.
For five years (1988-1993) he was Musical Director for Judy Collins.
Together they performed with the London Symphony and in the United
States with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Charleston, Chicago,
Dallas, Dayton, Houston, Kansas City, Louisville, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh,
and Portland, Oregon. Joseph Joubert served as Assistant Musical
Director of the Broadway show Five Guys Named Moe and was assistant
conductor/pianist for the award-winning Big River.
He is credited as conductor and pianist on the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theatre's Revelations CD. As a soloist he played
Duke Ellington's "New World A-Comin'" and Gershwin's "I
Got Rhythm Variations" with the Marin Symphony. Lauded by the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for his "brawny orchestrations,"
Mr. Joubert orchestrated "Sisters of Freedom," a 40-minute
work premiered by the Milwaukee Symphony and which featured the
Harlem Spiritual Ensemble.
As an accompanist, critics have hailed Mr. Joubert's
"sensitive and supportive" perform-ances as well as the
"uncommon tonal beauty" of his playing. He has collaborated
with Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Marvis
Martin, Simon Estes, Hilda Harris, William Brown, Esther Hinds and
Barbara Conrad, to name a few. With Ms. Battle he appeared in concert
at the White House for President Bill Clinton and President Boris
Yeltsin. At that performance, Mr. Joubert performed his arrangement
of "Amazing Grace." Afterwards President Yeltsin requested
the sheet music to take back with him to Russia.
Mr. Joubert is also a record producer and arranger/
orchestrator. He has successfully produced and arranged for Sony
Records Tremaine Hawkins' CD To A Higher Place and The Promised
Land. He provided specialized arrangements and orchestrations for
the huge CD collection entitled The Music Connection, released by
Silver Burdett Ginn.
Joseph Joubert resides in New Jersey with his wife,
the opera singer Renay Peters Joubert.
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