There was a young man named Chris recording some of his most recent piano compositions in our studio this morning. I was and still am blown away by his force and grace at the keyboard. He reminded me in some ways of George Winston in his ability to transition from and to forceful, very intense and soft, gentle caresses of the keys seamlessly. An exceptional Professional DJ can create bridges between cultures through music. This is what a Multicultural DJ does.
One of the great things that music can offer us is a means to break and go beyond borders and limitations that are created individually or socially. I think about when I was a kid. My family was not the most culturally aware or respectful but when it came to music, there were no barriers or prejudices. At night my parents could be listening to Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Beethoven, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Fiddler on the Roof, Rossini’s William Tell Overture (which I thought was The Lone Ranger theme), Santana and Hugh Masekela.
For me, it was The Beatles, Motown, Carole King, Cat Stevens, Beach Boys, Santana, Steppenwolf, Simon and Garfunkel, Elton John, Sly and The Family Stone, Bill Withers, Jimi Hendrix and The Byrds. I am sure there were others but those were the ones that owned my turntable during my early childhood. Of course, that all changed when I reached my teens.
Today music from Brooklyn, Jersey, LA, Texas, Mali, Mexico, Cuba, Turkey, Spain, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Indonesia, India, Philly, Detroit, UK, Italia, The Middle East, Africa in general, Jamaica, Hawaii, Ireland are all regular guests in my bedroom these days with other ‘friends’ visiting from time to time.
Music can do this. It is amazing to me how easy and painlessly music can expand our vision of what is possible between people, cultures and sound. Turn on your radio and briefly flip through several different stations that you do not regularly listen to and enjoy the diversity and creativity that you will experience. Music can do that and more.
