Music

When I was young, and contemplating my career path, I was deeply involved in music. My first inclination was to pursue a musical career. But there was another Voice calling me. Equally powerful as music’s call was professional ministry’s call. I talked with accomplished musicians who told me they, too, had considered priesthood or ministry. Many other musicians I knew had mystical leanings. Ultimately, I followed the Voice calling me to ministry, keeping music a private world all my own. Keeping music private kept it free. I have no music professor dictating how I should write. I don’t feel the need to follow popular trends. In short, I can follow my own taste, my own heart, my own muse. With my first CD, Moods Mellow and Blue, I’m making public my private world. This disk echoes back to the road I didn’t take—at the time.

Moods Mellow and Blue Cover Praised by today’s musicians and songwriters, such as international jazz artist Andrew Glover and Grammy winning keyboardist/producer Darryl Dybka, this CD’s jazzy sound is not like anything in the media today. The sophisticated harmonies and soulful melodies are enhanced by heartfelt, haunting, poetically crafted lyrics. The tones you will hear intone moods of love, love of life, passion, pathos, peace, and prayer—sometimes all in one song. Some of the best musicians in my city play on Moods Mellow and Blue, and contribute riveting solos. The disk features vocals, horns, real strings, a real rhythm section, and me on keys. Intended for a wide audience, this jazz-inspired CD is nevertheless a deeply personal work of art. I composed the songs on it over a long time as I grew and developed personally, and wrote the horn arrangements as the time for recording neared. And the CD isn’t overproduced studio merchandise. Using a microphone of the highest industry standards, I painstakingly recorded each of the instruments and vocalists myself, and personally mixed and engineered the tracks over a five-year period. I kept the post-production audio effects to a minimum so the resulting sound quality is clean and authentic. I am pleased and proud to say that after five years of ecstasy, agony, anxiety, peace, conflict, community, connections, happiness, grief, joy, and money, Moods Mellow and Blue is ready for public release! The tones you will hear intone moods of love, love of life, passion, pathos, peace, and prayer—sometimes all in one song.