Spirit In Different Clothing...
I thought I would take a moment to answer a question that comes up in my conversations with people who are just getting to know me. You could say that it has to do with my range of musical interests, which have always been pretty wide.
Because I love composing and arranging, I've found that having different groups is the most inspiring thing I can do for drawing out new kinds of pieces. That's why I put together a totally out-of-the-box vocal group (The Mirabai Ensemble), a muscular mini-big band (The KRIYA Octet), an electro/acoustic world/jazz group (the earPlay Jazzquintet), a West-African fusion trio (Bal du Kor), and co-lead a group that features newly arranged jazz & pop standards (The Paula Bradman Quartet). I joke to people about having "A.B.L.S."—Acquired Band Leader Syndrome !
OK, so you're probably wondering what the question I get is ? It goes something like, "Why do you like to play for so many different kinds of spiritual and religious groups ? Don't their messages conflict ?"
Spirit can be felt in any kind of music, and I feel that the philosophical differences between these groups is about as important as the clothing that people wear—interesting as a first impression, but ultimately of very little very importance. So when I sing my arrangement of the Negro spiritual "Mary Had A Baby" in church, I'm feeling all that yearning from "the train a commin' in." When I recast the Jewish folk song "Artza Alinu", I am propelled by it's passion for the land. When I accompany the Sufi whirling dervishes, I am part of their spiraling into pure forgetting. And when I drum in an all-night fire circle, I am helping to propel Spirit into whoever needs this the most.
Being a 'musical chameleon' has always been very natural for me. And the more different kinds of performances I undertake, the more I experience all of the special moments as well as longer arches in each performance. (They're so rich in detail that someone could write a short novel about each performance !) As I become more present and more immersed in the spirit of contribution, the more I experience them as essentially the same...
From the Source comes many rivers, and from those many rivers, they return to their Source.
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