Recorded on Saturday, December 6th, this album is a fully organic exploration of rhythm, memory, and improvisation — no MIDI, no digital manipulation, just hands, found objects, and a willingness to discover. Percussion led the way: it was the initial spark that pushed me to create something as raw and immediate as possible, letting the sounds emerge naturally through the act of playing.
My life as a musician started at a young age in the handbell choir of my family’s church near San Diego, California. I remember that I couldn’t yet read music, so one of the elderly ladies in the choir would take a highlighter and mark the notes in the music I was responsible for. A few years later, I picked up the trumpet in school and never looked back — no more handbells for me, and at some point, no more church.
Fast forward several decades later and I’m making a living as a professional musician. Despite many years of playing contemporary music and working extensively with living composers, it never occurred to me to write my own music. I wasn’t even sure what „my“ music would sound like. Even improvisation was something I shied away from – I was perfectly happy interpreting the music of others.
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There is often an expectation that great work comes only from deep intention. That it is birthed from the mind of the artist, fully formed. Picture the romantic image of Mozart, writing out his scores fully formed with no eraser marks. I find this to be a harmful narrative that can hinder creatives.
Just think of how many great improvisers we can look to and see their apparent musical genius. For example, just about every great jazz musician. The point that I am getting to, albeit in a roundabout way, is that it is okay not to know the end result when you start something creative. And it’s even better if you can begin to without expectation.
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