{"id":18064,"date":"2022-04-05T15:09:52","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T20:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=18064"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:01:01","slug":"jazz-singer-and-berklee-online-student-marchell-jackson-on-going-back-to-school-in-her-70s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/jazz-singer-and-berklee-online-student-marchell-jackson-on-going-back-to-school-in-her-70s\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz Singer and Berklee Online Student Marchell Jackson on Going Back to School in Her 70s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why Marchell Jackson Returned to Music Education to Honor a Lifelong Calling to Create<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marchell Jackson\u2019s life in music officially began when she and her friends started a vocal group in the 1960s, and it continues to this day, where at the age of 71 she is a working performer and a Berklee Online student. She is a testament to the belief that you should pursue the dreams that will make you happiest, and she offers her tips for longevity in the music business.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a vision that I set for myself, and I try to live by that,\u201d Marchell says. \u201cMy purpose for doing this is to achieve what I believe in.\u201d 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a 60-year (and continuing) career in music as a jazz vocalist and recording artist, she embarked on a journey to deepen her skill in songwriting through Berklee Online\u2019s degree programs in 2021: \u201cAt first, I was frightened,\u201d Marchell recalls, \u201cI hadn\u2019t been in school for a while. I didn\u2019t know if I would have the tenacity to learn. I didn\u2019t know what challenges I\u2019d have to face. I knew that this was the direction that I wanted to take. I\u2019m so glad I\u2019m here and I\u2019m learning so much. I\u2019m on the Dean’s List!” 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EARN A DEGREE IN SONGWRITING FROM BERKLEE ONLINE<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marchell actively records, produces, and performs under the stage name Whitney Marchelle<\/a>. Based in New York City, she is a seasoned, award-winning vocalist, songwriter, and pianist. She credits her father for cultivating her interest in music.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dad played piano, tap danced, and sang\u2014traveling around in the Midwest area [as an artist and musician]. When he met my mother, he got a regular job and decided to teach us music.\u201d Marchell grew up with a highly musical family, in small-town Newton, Iowa. Her Dad\u2019s involvement in the music industry inspired her to get involved in music at a young age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s worked with Jon Batiste, Quincy Jones, Wycliffe Gordon, Clark Terry, and Spike Lee. She\u2019s performed with Herbie Hancock, Tia Fuller (the Berklee instructor and sax player who breathed life into the lead character of Soul<\/em>), and opened for big names including Bill Withers, Kiss, and Donny Hathaway. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was young and opened for Bill Withers, Kiss, and Donny Hathaway, I was honored. When I was older and working with Jon Batiste and Tia Fuller, it was a mutual collaboration. I knew that I had to be [the best version of myself], professional and timely. That\u2019s how you earn respect as an artist.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

What keeps me going is my drive; my drive to live.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Marchell has toured nationally in all 50 states, and globally in Dubai, Japan, Singapore, and France. Her recent album was acknowledged by JazzTimes<\/em> and Billboard<\/em>, and has received several awards for her performing and songwriting.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says her proudest career highlight was writing and recording the song, \u201cWhat Jazz Is<\/a>,\u201d a modern ode to her lifelong love for jazz music, \u201cI took the history of jazz, and put it in the song \u2026 There are so many definitions of what jazz is. I decided to put as much as I could into one song, and still educate listeners.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marchell is currently working on a new album, which includes several popular jazz styles, words, and phrases that intersect her own identity and journey as a Black woman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat keeps me going is my drive; my drive to live,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Marchell
Marchell Jackson is pictured here a few years after we first published this story. In May of 2025, she walked in the Berklee Commencement ceremony in Boston, giving a wave and proclaiming that at the age of 75, she was proud to be the oldest graduate in the Class of 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marchell shares how her experiences have led her to where she is, how she decided what she wanted to do next\u2014go back to school\u2014and the beliefs she keeps top of mind to keep herself going, no matter what might stand in her way. <\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. You are never too <\/em>old to pursue your creative dream. <\/strong>\u201cIt gets to a point where you have to stop overthinking it,\u201d says Marchell, \u201cand simply go for it.\u201d  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Be open to feedback; take criticism with a grain of salt.<\/strong> \u201cCritics can be harmful, if you don\u2019t take the feedback through a filter,\u201d Marchell says, \u201cYou need to sift out [what is helpful to your growth].\u201d <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. \u201cYou can\u2019t take rejection personally, even though on some days it will feel extremely personal.<\/strong>\u201d Marchell also recommends centering mental health wellness (for example, pursuing professional therapy), and having close friends or people you feel safe talking about rejection with. Marchell says that reading self-discovery\/self-help books like How to Grow as a Musician: What All Musicians Must Know to Succeed<\/em> by Sheila E. Anderson has been cathartic as she\u2019s grown from rejection. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Collaborate. <\/strong>Marchell notes that creating connections with empathy will get you further than a divisive and competitive \u201cdo it yourself\u201d mindset. The truth is: you can never do it alone. You will always need support. \u201cHelp each other out when it comes to [your art]. Reach out to other sources. \u2026 [you do this by] making a list of what you\u2019re bad at and what you\u2019re good at. Then you make a list of what you\u2019re trying to achieve.\u201d Marchell suggests using this list to guide you as you make connections. Ask yourself: What can you offer and where do you have room for growth?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Create rituals for success, starting with how you build each day.<\/strong> \u201cI get up \u2026 I usually have juice, I pray\u2014have a spiritual cleansing prayer\u2014and I look at my calendar\u2014I usually write down what I have to do that day. I prepare what I need to do for the day. [With music] sometimes I don\u2019t feel like writing songs, but I try to anyway.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Freesia Towle is an Academic Advisor at Berklee Online, and a DJ living in LA. Berklee Online’s Academic Advising Team is made up of musicians and creatives like Freesia who are here to help you reach your musical goals at Berklee Online. To get in touch with an advisor call 1-866-BERKLEE (or +1-617-747-2146 if you\u2019re outside the US) or email <\/em>advisors@online.berklee.edu<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    TRY A FREE BERKLEE ONLINE COURSE<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Marchell Jackson\u2019s life in music officially began when she and her friends started a vocal group in the 1960s, and it continues to this day, where at the age of 71 she is a working performer and a Berklee Online student. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":18057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9566,9560,32,9573],"tags":[5944,8830,8827,6633,8832,7120,8825,6213,8833,8831,8828,8826,8829],"class_list":["post-18064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-songwriting-articles","category-spotlight","category-student-stories","category-voice-articles","tag-bill-withers","tag-clark-terry","tag-donny-hathaway","tag-herbie-hancock","tag-jon-baptist","tag-kiss","tag-marchell-jackson","tag-quincy-jones","tag-sheila-e-anderson","tag-spike-lee","tag-tia-fuller","tag-whitney-marchelle","tag-wycliffe-gordon"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJazz Singer and Berklee Online Student Marchell Jackson on Going Back to School in Her 70s<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marchell Jackson began a vocal group in the \u201960s, and her musical life continues to this day. 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