“I really want to thank you for giving me the most amazing musical [recording] session of a lifetime! . . . Thanks for helping me sound better than I’ve sounded in years!”

“Your presentations including performances are quite popular at Wesley U! Thank you for entertaining and informing with energy and professionalism, consistency, and a good read of your audience.”

“My collaborations with David over the last many years has been nothing short of amazing! Not only is he a brilliant arranger who knows how to arrange a chart that is both playable and fun but he also serves the music by arranging within the parameters of the tune itself. And he knows the history of the music, which allows him to pull from a deep well of insight and understanding. This is essential in my opinion. David is also a great friend and I am forever grateful for his fellowship and collaboration.”

“I have had a difficult time finding the literature I want and need for my pro big bands, so frequently I require custom arrangements. David Lee Joyner is someone I can always count on to deliver powerful and moving charts that really showcase my ensembles. I will always be calling him when I need music that makes an impact. Without question he is one of the very best in the business today!”

“David Lee Joyner is one of those rare musicians who can do it all: Performer, arranger, composer, educator, and scholar. I had the privilege to study under Dr. Joyner in the legendary Jazz Studies Program at the University of North Texas. I witnessed firsthand how his talent, intelligence, and enthusiasm inspired his students.”

“David Lee Joyner is truly one of the most talented performers, arrangers and composers I’ve ever worked with.  From custom writing arrangements for my solo tour, to sharing the stage with him, to simply sharing stories over a cup of coffee, his spirit is filled with love and joy that is absolutely contagious.  I feel very lucky to know him.”

“I love working with David! His musical knowledge and skill are so apparent, whether he is collaborating as bandmate or putting on his professorial hat. His love of learning and music (of all genres) bubbles over and makes him a delight to work with. Whether you need charts, arrangements, a historical perspective or great piano and singing chops, David is a fabulous resource and musical ally.”

“Dr. David Lee Joyner, my go-to guy whenever I need any musical advice, or have any questions about the music I love! Also one of the kindest human beings I’ve ever met.”

“David is a multi-talented individual. He is connected to jazz’s past, present and future as a jazz historian, skilled pianist, composer and arranger, and as a jazz educator, expertly guiding the next generation of musicians and fans.”

“David’s gifts as a musician are matched by his heart for ministry: working alongside him is a gift and a privilege – one for which I am eternally grateful.”

“Working with David Lee Joyner is an inspiration. His generous spirit informs both his musicianship and interaction with colleagues and collaborators. I’ve had the opportunity to conduct some of David’s works and prepare ensembles for his performances. His compositions are creative and expertly written; his demeanor with ensembles is honest, yet encouraging. He has high expectations, and he demands of himself everything he asks of his groups.”

“David Lee Joyner brings an infectious groove to everything he plays, complemented by an inspiring humility. His rich understanding of the roots of jazz abounds in his writing, improvisation, teaching, and mentorship.”

“As a vocalist, bandleader and performer David offers a service that is truly invaluable to my career. The amount of songs that have emotional and technically raised my own standard has also created new opportunities. Singers need so many songs that don’t have sheet music and, if they do, they might not fit your voice. Just recently [2020] he assisted me with creating a Billie Holiday Medley that receive huge praise. The confidence I now have is because I have a solid charts. Here is the best part of worker with Dr. Joyner; he really cares and it shows in his work.”

“David is so musically multi-faceted. He can compose a cantata for orchestra and choir, play solo electric piano in a dark, noisy bar, create a complex arrangement for an octet jazz band and teach young people how to improvise jazz on a piano. And most importantly put smiles on our faces when we hear the music.”

“I met David (Dr. Joyner to me) as an undergraduate music major at the University of North Texas in 1990. His lectures on American Popular Music affected me greatly in the most positive ways. Twenty-five years later I was still thinking about his explanations and descriptions when I sought out a scholar and musician that would be willing to take on a task that had been in the making for over fifty years – the biography of my father, Bill Haley. I felt it was tremendously important to get the analysis and interpretation of the music from the perspective of someone who could intimately describe how it was developed by my father and his co-musicians. To explain from what sources the style had arisen and explain the performance practices and style interpretations chosen by the musicians. To show how it was understood at the time, the interpretations of the ensuing generations, and how it is understood and remembered today in 2020. This was a huge task that I was proud and extremely happy to say David has accomplished.  I’m most satisfied in knowing that David can not only explain the music with so much contextualization and interesting biographical content, but he can play it too. The ultimate test of a well-rounded musicologist. I’m proud to call David my teacher, my friend, and my father’s biographer.”

“I worked with David on a biography of Bill Haley, the forgotten Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Apart from the fact that, having previously not known each other, we immediately got on like the proverbial “house on fire.” I very quickly came to respect David’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of popular music whilst admiring his relaxed and communicative writing style as he distilled the essence of the evolution of popular music, and plotted the complex map of who influenced Bill Haley and whom he influenced. In between times, I was also able to enjoy his marvellous jazz playing and also a number of his concert works. He is a man for whom music has no barriers: it is just music. And that’s the way it should be…!”

“…18 years ago or so in your Jazz Lab class [at Pacific Lutheran University], you gave me a compliment on my ad lib solo. I have thought about it often…it was really something special. Now, as an educator, I make sure I compliment someone in my class each day, because you never know what that will do for them. Thank you for shaping me as an educator.”