This album is a collection of stories—my thoughts, experiences, and reflections manifested as moments in time. These stories are meant to vividly conjure images and realities, to connect a broader community through experience shared and related.

Here and Now is a reminder to stay present. Ignoring our pasts might be a form of self- deception, but we can acknowledge our past experiences without letting them control our thoughts and actions in the present. This process is a statement of possibility and hope, of saying “I am” without being caught up in “I have been”.

The Same Changes is a reference to the pivotal article “The Changing Same (R&B and New Black Music)” from Amiri Baraka. Baraka describes Black Music not as genre, but as a community which evolves over time. In a sense, the words we use to describe music (“Jazz”, “Blues”, “Modern”, etc.) are containers for a community which changes over time, and from place to place, making them ill-equipped to accurately describe the art. If this is the case with a community of musicians and audiences, then surely this is also the case with an artist, and with any person. So, music is more accurately described by the experiences and communities which influence the creation of the art, as well as the experiences which the art invokes. This work builds from the experiences of communities and alters them by introducing new ideas and experiences. The same can be said of our lives and perception of identity. The Same Changes also refers to the cyclical nature of many of these compositions, which mainly feature sections of music that are repeated and evolve over time. Even the meaning of an entire song or recording is changed by what we experience while listening to it. The piece itself is a story of my process of self-discovery, both as an artist and as a human being.

Jessica is a story of love and openness. Jessica is my fiancée, my life partner. Sometimes spending time with the right person, romantically or otherwise, allows us to see the good in things—to be hopeful and optimistic. Relationships help us build our sense of the world around us, and positive relationships can help us approach our world with love and tenderness. The story also is meant to describe the nature of these kind of relationships: the calmness, light- heartedness, and intimate tranquility.

In the Face of Apartheid is an unanswered question and a call to action. In recognizing the community which created and fostered the medium of art that I use to express myself, we must also recognize the suffering and oppression which this community faces (again the main source of art being experience). I make music which was pioneered by mainly Black musicians, and all of us reap the benefits of Black Art and Culture. I don’t feel that it is my responsibility or ability to describe the experiences of others, but I do feel that we live in a time when suffering like this is broadcasted to us 24/7. And so, this piece is both a reflection of the pain that we all are witness to and a call to do something about it. We all have the ability to approach each other with love and empathy, to nurture relationships that are strained, and to pull each other out of bad situations. Whichever way this manifests is up to each of us, but if we don’t act with intention, then these kinds of problems will exist indefinitely.

Pale for Weariness (Of Climbing Heaven) was inspired by Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”. It is a journey of introspection and stillness. Specifically, this piece and its title describe the moon. And like the moon, we all exist in this universe to climb towards Heaven (whatever that word means to you). This existence is an uphill battle, but we face it every single day. We all are tied through this struggle of being in the world. However, there is a kind of solitude that
comes from these quiet moments, but it is a solitude that helps us understand ourselves and our meaning.

Fringed in Gold is a nod to Thoreau and the Transcendentalists. Like them, much of my inspiration comes from the beauty of nature, and the immeasurable feeling which nature brings inside us. The piece exists as cycles of days. The first section is a quiet dawn, which is then overcome by the brilliance of sunrise and the inevitability of a new day. However, all days come to an end as the sun sets once again. To me, this song conjures a vast White Birch forest, and the excitement and beauty of the sunlight adorning the trees with golden luminescence every morning, and every night as it sets. As the last piece of the album, this song accepts the close of this work, and invites the coming of another.

Thank you for supporting my music and helping me bring my vision to life. This art is nothing without its community, and you are mine. I hope this album affects you in some way, and that you carry the experience with you as you continue to exist in the world.