Meet Jamar Esaw of J4CreativeProductions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamar Esaw.

Hi Jamar, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m originally from Minneapolis, a city well-known for its diverse musical heritage and tapestry. I mean not for nothing my hometown boasts some of music’s biggest legends such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the late James “Big Jim Wright, and Prince. It’s safe to say that growing up I was surrounded by inspiration and creativity. I grew up in church so gospel music became engrafted into my identity from a very young age. Music was always going to be a significant part of my life. I can remember sitting in a rehearsal when I was around 6 or 7 and noticing that the voice parts weren’t quite right and sharing that with the choir. I will say that I was admonished to “stay in a child’s place” but thankfully I never lost that ear and a few years later when I was around 13 my choir director noticed my ability and decided to mentor me and give me the opportunity to teach and direct choirs. That opened more doors which included singing in various ensembles and ultimately becoming a member of the national cast of Showboat. This helped to fuel my passion for musical theater, music/theatrical production and expansion of my love of music across genres. All of this ultimately planted the seeds for founding my own musical aggregation and more.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not! I describe myself as an optimistic realist. Simply put, I expect that there will be challenges. You know when you’re traveling you should expect that there may be roadblocks and detours but that shouldn’t keep you from reaching your destination. As I said, I’m not a Nashville native, I grew up in Minneapolis where I started my choir Triad4Christ after finishing undergrad. When the choir was around 7 years old the opportunity to move to a new city and new state presented itself, so I left everything I had always known and moved to Indianapolis. My vision was to keep my choir intact, this was no easy task, but I’m not one to back away from a challenge. Not only was I able to figure out how to keep my MN crew engaged, I added to my membership by adding members from my newfound IN family. After almost 4 years, the opportunity to move to Nashville and work in my current position came, and just as before, I wanted to keep my choir intact. One of the new challenges was keeping both iterations of Triad engaged and present as I was evolving creatively. 

This evolution turned my group into something more than I had originally anticipated or even thought possible. There was a brief period when I put Triad “on the shelf.” It’s not easy to focus on cultivating relationships and culture in a high-profile position especially when that position is not only music but music ministry but it has to be done. In 2020 the pandemic was a blessing in disguise, of sorts. While so many were met with challenges due to quarantine and public gathering restrictions, I had opportunities to adapt to a changing landscape and perform with artists such as Wynona Judd and Childish Gambino. The pandemic also gave me a chance to focus on Triad and envision new possibilities for them once again. The first thing I knew I absolutely needed to do was to bring Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Nashville together to accomplish a single task. I believe collective accomplishment creates unity. The next thing I needed to do was figure out both the what and the how of that single task. So that’s when I began to think about a live recording project, I never want to try out any idea I have on someone

else without first trying it out on myself so a creative production company would become the vehicle to produce this recording project and so J4CreativeProductions was born. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
J4CreativeProductions is a creative strategic planning facilitation firm for performing arts creatives. We specialize in the conceptualization and implementation of event and production management strategies to help artistic minds manifest their visions for live performance productions. What sets us apart is our approach, we are performing artists and creative visionaries ourselves with over 20 years of live performance production experience. 

We understand that seeing the goal is often easier than accomplishing it. Sometimes you need someone to help reverse engineer your vision to make it manifest. Basically, visions are puzzles that you need a team to help build. We have the ability to not only help you build your team but ensure that every team member works where they’re most effective. We are here to help so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
One podcast that I like to listen to is Next Level Leaders with Dr. Joseph Walker, III. I also listen to Dave Stachowiak’s Coaching for Leaders. I will say that most people who know me are used to seeing me working in music as a vocalist, arranger, or choral director but I’m also a trained business professional.

I don’t talk about it often but since we’re talking about the business I started I think it should be said that I have a Masters of Business Administration Finance from Augsburg University, much of my initial business development philosophy was cultivated in my academic pursuits.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/jamaresaw instagram.com/triad4christ
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamar.esaw https://www.facebook.com/Triad4Christ
• Youtube: youtube.com/@jamaresaw5142

Image Credits
Rodney McKinnon for Media Messiah (@media_messiah), OShea Tometi for OShea Tometi photography (@okoshea and @osheaoutdoors), Al Bracken for Al Bracken photography (@albrackenphotography), and Jonathan Haynes for Euphoric Essentials (@euphoricessentials_)