Raised in Baltimore, Maryland, John Paul McGee, at the age of four without formal training, began playing familiar hymns and church songs by ear. Aware of his special gift, Dr. McGee's mother made the sacrifices necessary to ensure that John received formal musical training and development. Dr. McGee studied piano and pipe organ at New Shiloh School of Music where the renowned headmaster was the late great Dr. Nathan Carter and graduated in 2002 from internationally acclaimed arts preparatory high school Baltimore School for the Arts with a certificate in piano and opera studies.
John's musical career has taken him around the globe as a keyboardist, vocal arranger, producer, and songwriter, collaborating with and appearing alongside popular gospel and secular artists from Patti Labelle to Najee, the NFL players choir, and gospel legends Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, Cory Henry, Vashawn Mitchell, Earnest Pugh, and many others. His instrumental piano album, A Christmas with John Paul, released in 2014 with EPM records yielded him the #9 spot in the top 10 Billboard recording artists for. Along with the release of his first published book, John released a solo piano album in 2019 instrumental entitled "Elevate."
Dr. John Paul McGee is the current assistant chair of piano at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and Artist-In-Residence at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. JP earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music with a concentration in Piano Performance from Bethune Cookman University, a Master of Arts in Religion Degree from Liberty University a Master of Sacred Music Degree with a concentration in Pipe Organ Performance from Emory University, and most recently a Doctor of Ministry degree with a concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling from The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Ga. The groundbreaking research performed in his dissertation, A Sound for Distressed Souls: Gospejazzical as an NTU Approach for Coping with the Vocational Stressors of the Black Pastor, investigates the healing and curative powers of his new pianistic genre, Gospejazzical.
Gospejazzical is a signature sound that unites three powerful genres (Gospel, Jazz and Classical) into a unique fusion that entertains, uplifts, and inspires all who hear. In 2022, John recorded and released the musical album "Gospejazzical" featuring the John Paul McGee trio, vocalists Wendi Henderson-Wyatt, Amber Bullock and Zebulon Ellis. In December 2022, the album was heard by the iconic musical legend Stevie Wonder who immediately invited John and the Trio to perform for his Annual House of Toys Benefit Concert in Los Angeles, California before a sold out crowd of thousands. Through radio and streaming, John's first mainstream album, Gospejazzical Volume 1, has reached hundreds of thousands of listeners across the world and maintained its position in the top 100 Jazz Weekly charts for several weeks. It is stated by online publication, The Urban Music Scene, that one experience with John's masterful musicianship and the way one hears gospel, jazz, and classical will never be the same.
