Thelonious Sphere Monk lll

Bon Bon Vie, Baby! Thanks Sandra + Janelle. 1540 Broadway! TCOG :)

Happy Father’s Day 2020! This year I can’t stop thinking about Police Brutality and blk families. Full video on IG - #theloniousmonk

I can’t wait to spend Father’s Day with my children!

Mayor Jacob Frey: Justice for George Floyd - Sign the Petition! chng.it/NStZRjZz via @Change

Bravo to the likes of #TheloniousMonk , Armstrong, Ellington, Davis, Fitzgerald, Coltrane, Holiday and a host of others who’s music is played and studied world wide decades after their passing. #Jazz is the musical manifestation of the American ideal.

The electric guitar, the saxophone, the modern trap drum set, and the electric piano - were all made popular first, in #Jazz. The vocal impacts have been myriad and sweeping. It’s even influenced it’s original parent, The Blues.

Examples: intellectually, in terms of things like syncopation, harmony, + melody too. Actual musical theory. Or in terms of the ultimate popular use of many of today’s musical instruments themselves.

... There surely are. But the inter-generational pursuit of the Jazz genre as a fulltime musical endeavor by subsequent generations is rather remarkable. #Jazz has been the continuous cauldron of creativity, from which all genres since have taken ground-breaking ideas.

There is an organic, human element associated with freedom of thought and individual expression that every generation can relate to. That’s not to say there are not great artists from other genres that are fondly remembered...

Other genres: American Classical, Dixie, Ragtime, Boogie Woogie, Honkytonk, Doo Wop + more are gone for the most part. Most 20th century genres have died with the generation they are attached to, but not #Jazz!

#Jazz has survived during the popularity waves of R&B, Rock & Roll, Disco, House, Hip Hop, and will survive whatever comes next.

#Jazz is the one genre that has survived World War I, World War II, The Korean War, and Vietnam. It survived the cultural upheavals of the civil rights movement of the 60’s.

Grand Master Musician and pianist #TheloniousMonk, II once said, “Always Know”. Those words are more important today than ever.

Feeling like America is a patient sitting in an ICU, but treatment is being withheld - because the surgeon is ”out to lunch”.

Be smart, Follow your heart. Enjoy Easter AT HOME.

Panic causes bad decisions. Unfortunately, many leaders are far more panicked than the folks they claim to represent.

All trickled down to our popular genres from Jazz because #Jazz is the creative cauldron from which all genres extract new musical ideas.

Contextually speaking, think about the syncopation in R&B, the harmonic innovations of my dad - #TheloniousMonk, or the free form prose found in hip-hop music.

Example - many times there are global aid events for greater good, but you see limited representation from world famous jazz artists. We have to #bridgethegap

So why does it feel like an oversight when we (Jazz Artists) aren’t always considered to be part of the artistic community?