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.

A few weeks back, I was in New c. We were down there for about a week (April 14-24) and a few days. Everything went according to plan, the music came out great and we had a good a time. One day in particular was different from every other. Thursday, April 21st we found out on the news that Prince had died. At first, I didn’t believe it but then the calls started coming in. My parents called me in disbelief, my girlfriend, my brothers, and closest friends all called me… It seemed like everyone that I knew had been greatly affected by Princes death. It finally dawned on me that we had just lost one of the greatest artists of all time and that the musical world will never be the same. I could honestly write about Prince and how he’s influenced me for days but for now I’ll just post this video I made in tribute to Prince.