Category: Blog

While visiting LA ComicCon I found myself being chased by Godzilla. I was asked why I looked like I was standing still. Hmm.. I think I was so afraid I was paralyzed with fear…

I’m excited to announce that my newest single will be released on Oct 20, 2020!

Space and Time – AfroFuturism. A reflection look at the eerie quietness of life inside of Los Angeles during the world of COVID-19. Empty freeways, empty malls, empty Hollywood Studios, empty amusement parks. The beginnings of the apocalyptic world of the Coronavirus in Los Angeles, Ca.

I’m excited to share this latest walk through the future reality of the present. Please join me in this adventure through the streets of reality. The reality of life in Los Angeles during the world of COVID 19.

Jazz is the story of a people,
a people struggling to fight oppression.
The oppression of racism,
the oppression of injustice,
the oppression of brutality
and more.

It is the story of a people,
a black people,
an African American people,
a negro people,
a people growing up in America.

 

It is the story of their struggles in America.
Although, the story does not start nor stop with Jazz. Jazz is just a part of the story.

It is a story that includes Blues, Gospel, R&B, Soul, Rap, West African Drumming and so much more.

As with any great story, the levels of complexity are vast.

 

Has Jazz or Blues died? Is Gospel, R&B outdated?
Jazz is not dying, nor are any of the musical forms outdated.
The music is not a genre, rather it is the story of a people.
A people learning to talk, a people learning to speak,
a people learning to know who they are.

Jazz is the story of a people in transition,
no longer a people only speaking though instruments, it is now a people learning to use words.
Not just using words,
but the breathing of words,
breathing of vocabulary,
breathing of sentence structures.
It is the elevation of communication,
the elevating of thought and language to new heights.

 

The music is the story of a people,
a people struggling to fight oppression,
the oppression of racism,
the oppression of prejudice,
the oppression of injustice,
the oppression of brutality.

To look at the music of black people,
African American people,
Negro people
as a style or genre would be incorrect.

We need to look at the music as individual instruments in a grand orchestra.
We need to look at the music as individual melody lines of an orchestral song.

Jazz is one melody line in the voice of a people,
a people learning to speak,
a people learning to talk,
a people learning to communicate.

One instrument,
one melody line,
the song of a people,
an orchestral song,
a song that is only now beginning to take form.

Time is an array of confusion for which there  is no beginning and no ending, only seconds ticking in between.

In these seconds that we have on this earth, what we do matters.
People matter
relationships matter
life matters.
People are important
life is important
music is important.

Music is the relationship of life, it is the orchestral piece where everyone has a melody line; it is the musical journey. There is not just one melody in this orchestral piece, rather it is the contrapuntal confluence of life, it is the combination of movement and sound.

This most important musical piece is being played by all of us, it is in the ticking seconds we have between the beginning and end that our melody must sing.

I’ve always had a fascination with music and language, and the use of various languages in a single piece of music. I think the combination of various spoken languages creates a music of their own without any need for musical instruments. Hence, I try to include spoken languages (aside from English) in my music whenever the opportunity affords it.

My first language other than English was ‘Basic’ but that was a computer language and not a spoken language. My second language was Spanish (during the eleventh grade), but my Spanish teacher had concluded during the middle of the semester that some people just couldn’t learn languages. I was offended! After my experience with that Spanish teacher I decided to put down languages for a couple of years, until later when I served in the military and decided to embark upon learning French. I had begun to enjoy coffee at the time, and my new found love of coffee encouraged me and gave me a goal in my desire of learning of the French language. My goal was to have the full French experience, and in my mind that experience was drinking coffee at a Cafe in France while discussing politics the world and life (in French). I did achieve my goal! 🙂

My language skills have since expanded from just English, French and moved onto Hebrew and Swahili. I’ve also learned a whole slew of computer languages (I like to program and enjoy Linux). I’m now better at Hebrew than I am at French. Once again, I was able to have my authentic French experience, and it was in a host of places from Paris to Bordeaux to Nice to Marseille and countless other cities in France. Unfortunately I could never bring myself to attempt to learn Spanish again, the bad Spanish teacher that I had in the eleventh grade has scarred me and my ability to learn Spanish for life :(.  Ok, I’m from San Diego, California so maybe I do know a little Spanish. 🙂

>Back to Language and Music
While in college I had heard Einstein on the Beach by Phillip Glass, and this changed my entire world. When I heard the Knee Play’s I lost my mind with excitement. Upon listening to that first Knee Play my love of spoken language, Music and Rhythms was cemented for life. Aside from Philip Glass, some of my other musical influences have included Jean Michel Jarre, Eric Serra, Steve Reich, Kraftwerk, Prince and a whole slew of other artist.

As I stated before working with Mark Willson is always great! Whether we are performing live or just recording, it’s an awesome jelling of musical experiences and journey’s. The Life Dance Extended Remix is another example of this musical experience/journey. I look forward to the next time Mark and I perform live, where we integrate everything from synths, turntables, keyboards, visuals etc… Music is a language onto itself, it’s always necessary to be in the moment.

I’m excited because we finally finished my new music video Life Dance. This video could not have been created without the incredible genius of Video Producer Sabina Luu (http://vjpixelpusher.com/ ). Sabina did an amazing job! We shot the video in California, mostly in Long Beach and at the LA port. The video was enhanced with the help of Time Lapse Footage provided courtesy of photographer extraordinaire Nima Rezai ( https://nimarezai.com/ ). I’ve been working on and off with Sabina and Nima for years, and I look forward to continuing to work with both of them!

Mark Willson and I have worked on and off together since college. I was a music major and I think Mark was an Advertising or Marketing major. We were in a band together called Slow the Flow (Bass, Sax, Keyboards, and two turn tables). We used to gig all the time, anything from night clubs, to birthday parties and bar-mitzvahs. Mark and I hadn’t worked together in a while, and we both wanted to work together again, hence the creation of the Psalm 32 remix. I gave Mark the stems, and he returned with the Psalm 32 remix. While we are no longer in Slow the Flow, we are still often moving in the same direction musically!

I was inspired to write Psalm 32 last summer while spending 2 months in Haifa Israel studying Hebrew. Waking up late one night, I decided to look through the Psalms. I landed on Psalm 32, and it seemed really inspiring to me. Considering what was going on in my life at the time, I decided it would really cool to write a song based on it.

Growing up in the African Methodist Episcopal church in San Diego, Ca. I wanted the song to be closer to the style of music that I listened to growing up as a kid.  I also wanted to include both Hebrew and English (since I was in Israel studying Hebrew).