New Year’s Travelogue

I love getting up early for a flight; something about the day waiting to unfold recharges me. This morning I’m heading to Rome, then to Orvieto.

That feeling of getting to the airport and knowing my airline elite status will make my trip smooth, priority check-in, boarding doesn’t let me forget my status as a Black man; I get to visit places that many people I grew up with won’t see.

It’s weird getting on a plane and seeing that not very many people look like you. It makes me realize how blessed I am to live my passion and to be able to share it with the world. And yet there’s a responsibility there. People may not know your name, but they will have a few names waiting for you. Which one will you answer to?

Orvieto is such a charming mountaintop town, full of little surprises everywhere. From the tiny Michelin-rated restaurant, Del Moro, to the underground tunnels to the majestic Orvieto Cathedral, Orvieto reminds me of the joys of the simple life. Things like relationships, service, purpose, and spirituality sometimes get skewed by the hustle of work, technology, and multitasking. Because I live in fast-paced New York City, I make sure to relish these beacons of simplicity when I travel abroad, and try to let them sink in. Orvieto is one of those peaceful places.

On this trip, I got to hang with Lewis Nash. His duo concerts with Steve Wilson were deep. Nash is a complete musician, and you can hear it even more in a duo setting, where the soundscape is so bare but full of intensity, color, and soul. I got a huge lesson in short and long notes, and he even sang and played a solo tribute to Natalie Cole that brought the house down. In our short time together, I asked him about many things: musicality, longevity, vision, Trump (smh), family, and even choosing the right mate. I was truly illumined.

And yes, even with all that going on I am supposed to be working. This tour was with Kurt Elling’s Passion World band. We have played five shows, two in a big-band setting, and three as a quintet. I decided I’d play with a setup of only snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals. It really kicked my butt and made me dig deep, providing me with a lot of clarity on things I need to work on and ideas about how to create new musical colors. Traveling with Elling, I got to see his work ethic firsthand. As a vocalist, digging deep is what he always does. I’ve been around many talented people and one thing I love about Elling is that he is constantly working at it. He’s the first to warm up, tuning his sound and range for performance.

This particular tour, being on the cusp of 2015 and 2016, had me contemplating many things that I would like to change in my life and in the world at large. I haven’t played many New Year’s shows in my life. Most of my New Year’s have been spent in church. I used to envy everyone that got to play then. Yet now I understand how the grace of past moments, and the potential of new ones, should fill my mind and heart with gratitude on New Year’s and always. That is church for me: being an instrument, through my music and otherwise. I keep that perspective with me wherever I happen to be.