I’m not sure who first coined this term but I do remember Nicholas Payton using it a lot a few years back to describe Jazz. I don’t intend to go back down that rabbit hole with this post, but rather to better define how I would describe my music. I grew up on soul music and particularly a lot of Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Temptations and Smokey Robinson. This had a profound affect on the music that I gravitate to. Even after studying jazz for a number of years I find myself always gravitating back to my roots (but informed by jazz). The music that I like to create is influenced by the soul music I grew up on as well as the Jazz that I’ve studied and been immersed in while in NYC. Both Jazz and R&B/Soul (as well as Hip Hop, Rock N’ Roll, Country, Blues and many other styles) are art forms that have come out of the African American traditions. When it comes to trying to classify the music that I make, the best term I can come up with is Black American Music.

Somewhere in Between

The concept behind this album is Love. I know that sounds cliche, but before jumping to conclusions, just know that this album is not the typical happy-go-lucky love story. This album is about my two, sometimes conflicting, loves: the life-long love I have for music and the love for my girlfriend of 3 years. It’s also about the struggles I have had trying to find the balance between the two. This battle to find balance between both relationships has played a pivotal role in making me who I am and my musical evolution. This album will feature both my saxophone as well as my vocal debut. I've decided to name this project “Somewhere in Between” because I so often times find myself caught in between my two loves and similarly between my two favorite styles of music, Jazz and RnB. We have to follow our own hearts and clear our own paths in life. We can't live someone else's expectation of how we should live. This album is about trusting your gut and seeing it through.

Serious face... Captured by Sarah Escarraz