Artistic Statement
My work is guided by a simple principle. The music is not the destination. It is a means of transport. All art is a campfire around which human beings gather for varying reasons.
This is not to say that music is not extremely important. I imbue every note I play and compose with the fullest investment of my soul and being.
Correctly applied, music can convey the deepest of human emotions. It can teach, reach, motivate, and change the course of human history and understanding.
I stand with composers and performers that are revolutionaries. Charles Mingus, Billy Holiday, Fela Kuti, Kendrick Lamar, the list of musical creators who choose to use their art as both art and journalism is long and storied.
It is not new either. The composers who chose to speak to social and political realities in their lifetime includes Beethoven, Shostakovitch, Ravel, Stravinsky and many others.
I believe through the power of music we can change the outcome of humanity. When we perform/compose with conviction and conscience we can raise awareness of world hunger, social injustice, political terrorism and more.
When I was 12, I was awakened by a Miles Davis recording. I figured if I could play Jazz, I would be complete. I became a pianist and experienced partial satisfaction. I figured if I could play professionally, support myself, release my own recordings, garner critical acclaim and recognition, all these things would bring my soul completion.
It wasn’t until I composed and performed music that reflected my convictions that I began to feel agency as an artist. From The Offense of the Drum, Four Questions, Fandango at the Wall, Cuba: The Conversation Continues, through the upcoming release of my new suite Mundoagua (which deals with the horrors of global warming), from these soul-statements I have begun to understand my path as an artist.
There are many who would argue that musicians/composers should keep their political opinions to themselves. There are those who think abstract beauty is its own raison d’etre. There are many more who make music to separate consumers from their wallets and design their product accordingly.
I, by no means, denigrate these purposes or those who would choose such ends. I only wish to express in this artistic statement that my life turned out quite differently from when I started. All I wanted to do was to play/compose well and to be recognized for doing so.
