-
9 months ago
in case you were looking for it, The Groove Is Here
-
1 year agolive recording of All Blues
-
Notes: 1 / 1 year ago
Last night I had a dream of mine come true by performing with the one and only Morris Pleasure. One of my closest friends Kayren performed with us, and I’m excited that she experienced that with me. Kayren has performed with me off and on for over 15 years, and around 1998 we were in a funk group called Anonymous Groove. I would watch Earth, Wind, and Fire performances to get ideas for our band, and a special memory that has always stuck with me was a guy that came out and did a bass solo with Verdine White. I loved what he did for the solo, but never knew who he was.
Here’s a pic and video link from the shows, click here.
Lets fast foward to 2008, I’m helping a customer at the Apple Store named Bobby. Bobby had a serious computer issue, but in the middle of our session he wanted to show me this video of his friend performing. I was so focused on Bobby’s issue that I almost didn’t watch the video, but I’m glad I took the time to watch. As soon as the video started I realized it was an Earth, Wind, and Fire performance, and Bobby showed me his friend which was the guy doing the bass solo. I have been such a fan of that solo from so many years ago that I was completely blown away. Thanks to Bobby, Mo came into the store a couple of weeks later looking for me when he had a tech issue, and from there on I’m incredibly fortunate to call Mo a friend. Since then I have been helping Mo at Pleasure Island Studio, and during my time working there Mo gave me the inspiration to give a music career another chance… as crazy as the industry is. But Mo’s belief in me was what helped me move on from working at the Apple Store and to rejuvenate my music career. Mo has introduced me to several renowned musicians such as: Sonny Emory, Sam Simms who I performed with a few weeks ago, and Fred Vigdor. Also with the inspiration Mo gave me, I have been working for Billy Hume at the Zone Studio for the past few months. Without Mo, none of this would have ever happened and I wanted to take a minute to thank him!
For my friends who don’t know who Morris Pleasure is, let me give you a glimpse of who he has performed with over the years. Mo first starting gigging with Ray Charles as a bass player, and after that he was fortunate enough to have the chance to be the Earth, WInd, and Fire’s music director for around 9 years. Throughout his career he has toured with many musicians such as: Janet and Michael Jackson (This Is It Tour), George Duke, Natalie Cole, Christina Aguilera, Maxwell, the David Foster & Friends tour, and that is just to name a few. Mo also has solo projects he is working on with Watersign Media (his company). Mo is a very talented multi instrumentalist who can play instruments such as: keyboard, bass, guitar, but his main instrument is the trumpet. Because of all of this, Mo, in my opinion is one of the greatest musicians of our time and I’m incredibly fortunate to call him my friend. Last night was a truly a dream come true since I had the chance to perform with Morris Pleasure. Thanks again man!
-
Notes: 22 / 1 year ago
cool clip of Bob Reynolds and John Mayer
-
1 year ago
here’s a sneak peak at a project i’m working on for Musiq Soulchild
-
1 year ago
review of the Slate Digital FG-X by Billy Hume http://bit.ly/aNwayU
-
1 year ago
Amazing Slow Downer has been a secret weapon of mine for years while i was teaching and helped take my musicianship to whole different level. started using Capo when it came out because i loved the slick interface and being able to see the wave form while practicing, plus they kept adding cool features. now Capo 2.0 takes everything to a different level. now that you can notate inside the app and detect chords is a deal changer for me. time to figure out what song to transcribe & try out the new features.
click here for a link to the video
-
1 year ago
glad to finally get a chance to see the documentary on Tom Dowd. for those who are not familiar with his name, you have heard his work. he engineered and produced some of the most amazing recordings of our time from John Coltrane to the Layla sessions with Clapton to Ray Charles and i could go on and on. thanks Billy for telling me about this movie.
-
Notes: 2 / 1 year ago
“My goal as a jazz musician has been always to just try to play as honestly and expressively and creatively as I can: that’s what jazz is about to me. I’ve always believed that if you do that then your music will reach people, on an intellectual, and more importantly, an emotional level. I think if you really put your heart and soul and creativity into your music, and it comes from an honest and genuine place, it will have the potential to reach many different sorts of people at many different stages in their lives.”
part of an interview from Joshua Redman, always seem to read or hear music from Redman that always inspires me at the perfect time!
-
1 year ago[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
derekworth@mac.com
@derekworth on twitter
Following
