Grammy Award Nominated Musician.

The trajectory Joan has followed from singing gospel in the Baptist church as a young girl and entertaining family friends in Michigan to becoming a critically acclaimed performer who's delighted sold-out crowds across the globe traces a fascinating course. Joan's mother, who also sang, introduced her to classical baritone vocalist, Dr. Willis Patterson. "He took me under his wing and trained my voice," she says.

Moving to Hollywood, Joan pursued a professional singing career but soon shelved her musical aspirations in order to raise her three children. She reached a critical juncture when her father passed away. "I went back to Michigan and my mom asked me to sing at the funeral," she says. "I hadn't sung publicly for 15 years. When I went back home to California, it was almost like a waterfall had opened up. I couldn't stop singing if I wanted to."

By the late-'90s, Joan had fully immersed herself in music. She began writing songs and recorded Emotions Blue (1998), her tribute to Billie Holiday. "I really related to her" she says. Joan's chameleonic musicality fueled her follow-up Variations (2005). "It was a variety of me," she explains about the album's concept. "I had blues, gospel, jazz, and R&B going on there. I never want to limit myself to jazz because I am not just a jazz vocalist. I'm a vocalist, period."

Relocating to Detroit, Joan met her musical soul mate, legendary trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, after hearing her sing during a jam session at Bert's Marketplace. Their professional partnership gradually grew into a romantic relationship. The couple wed and released their first of two collaborations with New Orleans saxophonist Charlie Gabriel, You Don’t Know Me: A Tribute to New Orleans, Ray Charles, and the Great Ladies of Song (2007). "Marcus was the last living member of Ray Charles' original band," Joan explains. "We had a Louis Armstrong show and a New Orleans show. Marcus wanted to do something for Ray."

The trio followed up with Marcus, Charlie, and Joan … Once Again (2009) where Joan's voice duly complemented the superb musicality of the album's two jazz virtuosos. Joan resumed her solo career with Excitable (2009), which Detroit-based Blue Rivers Records re-released in 2014, along with "Please Send Me Someone to Love" for Blue Note Records president Don Was, and even ventured into techno with producer Carl Craig on Tribe's "Where Am I" (2009).

Sadly, Marcus Belgrave passed away in May 2015. "Marcus wasn't just my husband," she says. "He was also my musical partner. When Marcus was young, his father told him to listen to singers. I think that's why we gelled. He would talk to me through his horn." In his memory, she founded the Belgrave Scholarship Fund for young musicians and the Marcus Belgrave Legacy Ensemble, which debuted to rave international reviews at the sold out show for the Winter Jazz Festival in New York, City.

Joan signed on to help director Timashion Jones and his producing team in 2022 for their documentary about Marcus Belgrave. Her tireless efforts in introducing the crew to important musicians, artists and Detroit community figures for the documentary, and her willingness to share significant biographical information and unreleased photos and video, has made her an essential part of the filmmaking process.