When In Need of Musical Inspiration

A co-worker asked me to do a painting of nature for him, which I haven’t done before. It’s been raining all day, so going out to take some pictures probably isn’t going to happen, but sometimes music can create a scene in my mind as well – if not better – than the real thing. The following are my “go to” tunes for inspiration:

The Robert Glasper Experiment. And what an experiment it is! Glasper is not afraid to take chances, fusing jazz, rap, ad lib, synthesized vocals, alternative pop, and even some calypso undertones that’s, at times, upbeat, introspective and downright “trippy.” My most recent listen is Black Radio, featuring some artists I really, like Erykah Badu, Marsha Ambrosius, Lalah Hathaway and Jill Scott. Probably my favorite number a David Bowie song titled, “Letter to Hermione” covered by Bilal. I love how this album transports me to another place.

Jaspects: This is another musical genre-bending “dream team”– most hailing from Morehouse College in Atlanta - that blends jazz, hip hop, pop, rock, blues and, you name it. While their primary training is mainstream jazz, Polk-Dotted Stripe is their most eclectic mix and features a lovely ballad titled, “Find My Way to Love,” by Chantae Cann. Unfortunately (but fortunately for them!), they have now gone their separate ways and moved on to bigger and better.

Destruments: Shaped By the Sound. This group of talented young men infused hip hop with jazz for a sound that ranked very high on my “fresh” meter. Sadly, they too seem to have gone their separate ways and moved on, I hope, to bigger and better.

Michael Franks. The father, it’s been said, of “Smooth Jazz,” although his music is infinitely better than a lot of the hyped up Muzak that, unfortunately, often passes for smooth jazz today. There are just too many favorites to list here, but for painting purposes, my favorites are: “Hourglass,” “Vincent’s Ear,” “Rainy Night in Tokyo” (from The Best of Michael Franks: A Backward Glance) and “Sunday Morning Here with You” (Passionfruit)
Dexter Wansel: “One Million Miles from the Ground,” from the album Life on Mars.

Pat Metheny: “Are You Going With Me?” From his album Off Ramp.

Gino Vannelli: Oh, where do I begin? Top picks: “Storm at Sunup,” “Keep on Walking” (from the album Storm at Sunup) and “Summers of My Life” (Gist of the Gemini)

Al Jarreau: All Fly Home. Pretty much the whole album.

Steely Dan: “Aja,” from the album, Aja

Spyro Gyra: “Pacific Sunrise” from the album, Freetime