DownBeat Magazine

Jazz Improv Magazine

As a husband-and wife team, Jack Mouse and Janice Borla designed a basement to function as a place for writing, rehearsing and teaching, and as it turned out it became the place where they recorded Janice’s highly acclaimed CD From Every Angle. When they purchased the home, which sits by a pond in Naperville, the “English-style” walk-out basement (a basement that is only partially below ground) was unfinished. While they planned to make it into a place for their work, the ability to record there was never on their minds. Little did they know...

“There are no shortcuts, no “fast track,” to becoming a creative jazz artist. Do not chase what’s ‘popular’ nor be seduced by the tantalizing prospect of being ‘discovered’ and set on the road to stardom. Talent and desire are only starting points. Technical skill and knowledge are important assets, but so is one’s life experience. A strong work ethic, consistency of effort, and bulldog tenacity give you staying power as a creative artist…”

Feature Articles

Vocal jazz instructors offer many different takes on how to succeed in music. But talk about the absolute necessity of finding your own voice, and what may have been a cacophony suddenly becomes a well-behaved choir: Find your voice, and you’re halfway home.

PBS News Hour

JANICE BORLA: I think the American public is starved for singers. I think that the reason why there seems to be a great popularity of jazz singers right now is that they're singing in a manner that's very accessible to a broad general taste, regardless of your knowledge of jazz, and I think the American audience is very grateful to have some singers back on the scene.

Recording Magazine