by Elizabeth Coady

For Shakera Jones, music is the sixth sense. “Music is everything to me and performing is a freeing feeling,’’ said Jones, 40, who lives in the city’s Fairmount section. “I feel like I’m probably my best self when I’m singing, and it’s such an expression of who I am.’’

Growing up, music was always a part of her home, and she remembers singing when she was four years old. Her mom sang, her father sang, and her grandfather played the jazz trumpet, so music and voice have always been an integral part of her existence.

She grew up in Montclair, N.J. where schools had a strong performance arts program starting in third grade and throughout high school. She sang and danced her way through the years, performing in plays such as “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Oklahoma!” and “The Princess and the Pea.”

When she graduated, it only made sense that she would major in music, and she enrolled in Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music to study music and jazz voice. She said she loves the freedom and flexibility of jazz. “It can sound like whatever you want it to sound like.”

She began writing her own songs – ‘’finding my own voice’’ – when she was in graduate school at the University of the Arts. where again she studied music. She enjoys telling stories through her lyrics, evoking emotions and “digging into the sounds of words.’’

It was also in graduate school that she began playing with musicians as the Shakera Jones Quartet. Her soulful vocalizations have won her the “Jazz Vocalist Award” from The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, and she has performed at The Women in Jazz Festival, the Lancaster Avenue Jazz Festival and The Center City Jazz Festival.

“I love jazz because it has allowed me to find my own voice,’’ writes Jones on her artist page at AllAboutJazz.com. “ ... The best show I ever attended was Cassandra Wilson and Dianne Reeves. AMAZING!!! The first jazz record I bought was ‘Carmen Sings Monk.’ My advice to new listeners is to listen with your heart and feel with your experiences.’’'

While some of her favorite singers are Cassandra Wilson, Carmen McCrae, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye, she said, “I listen to all kinds of music all the time.’’

Jones teaches musical education at Philadelphia’s Grover Cleveland Mastery Charter School, where she has worked for three years. She’s been teaching since 2007 and received her master’s in education and educational leadership from Antioch MacGregor, now Antioch Midwest, in Ohio. But she continues to perform at monthly or bimonthly gigs, with her next performance at “An Evening of Jazz” being held at Grace Lutheran Church in Wyndmoor on Nov. 4.

Jones is one of three area performers invited to show off their talents while raising money for the Mount Airy Learning Tree Scholarship Fund. This is one of three fundraising events planned by MALT to encourage neighbors to engage with each other while raising funds.

“Our mission is to enrich our Northwest Philly community by providing opportunities for diverse neighbors to connect and come together through common interests,’’ said Stephanie Bruneau, MALT’s executive director. “Usually, we do this through our courses, enabling neighbors to teach neighbors in informal learning environments. In this instance, though, we are bringing neighbors together through music!’’

Jones says she relishes performing before audiences who often express their admiration and appreciation following the shows. “It’s just joy all around in my opinion,’’ she said.

An Evening of Jazz will be the first of three planned Neighboring Community Arts Salons by MALT. The Winter Arts Salon will be held March 10 and feature poet Yolanda Wisher (yolandawisher.com) and poet/vocalist V. Shayne Frederick (vshayne.com).

“An Evening of Jazz” will be held at Grace Lutheran Church, 801 E. Willow Grove Ave. in Wyndmoor, on Sunday, Nov. 4, 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information, call 215-843-6333.