ok… still coming down from this dream
this past weekend i went to Toronto and was apart of Danilo Pérez’s Panáfrica Suite: Echoes from the Isthmus, an incredible story of Panafrican/Panamanian resistance written for Big Band, voice, and poetry (performed by the incredible @thevoiceofaprilmay ) featuring John Patitucci and Brian Blade.
what an incredible gift, thank you so much @daniloperezjazz for bringing me along!!!
lil solo moment from the BGJI summit last night! playing over Sofia’s tune, “Lotus Flower.” what an incredible concert!! everybody was so inspiring and it was a beautiful gathering of souls💕 thank you to @berkleeglobaljazzinstitute@gregorygrooverjr & @daniloperezjazz for creating this space for us to grow!!
happy trans day of visibility 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️
i’m so grateful to know trans love and have trans friends and to be able to make art pulling from this beautiful and expansive experience of living truthfully to one’s soul.
at the same time it’s an extremely difficult time to live authentically while there is a systematic genocide and erasure of transgender people happening right now. if you are not trans but support us, now is the time for loud, unwavering, extreme support. anything less is some kind of sick joke at this point.
Please join us for Sacred Threads: Challenging the Upanayana, an evening length performance by Ananth Udupa, with musical compositions and performances by Fall Raye and Ani Prasad. LINK IN BIO!
The upanayana is an ancient hindu, Brahminical ritual which was done to young people interested in pursuing education. A young person would receive a yajñopavītam (originally a shawl which later became three threads draped around the body) to be admitted into gurukula, the schooling system, where they would learn religious chants, arts, science, mathematics, and more. This ritual, in its origin, was not caste or gender exclusionary. But, through time, specifically because of a medieval social code titled the Manusmriti, the upanayana was made exclusive to high-caste men. Today, these exclusive practices written onto the ritual have rooted into the observance of patriarchal gender roles and the blind participation in caste-oppressive religious activities.
Sacred Threads explores queer experiences of the upanayana, struggling through questions about traditions embedded in patriarchy and casteism while being born outside of one’s homeland. In many ways, this work is a plea to heal and liberate how we celebrate the sacred within each other.
Doors open at 7:00 PM and the performance will start at 7:30 PM.
oh what a year it’s been 😭😭😭
much of it was spent trying to keep sane with the world literally being on fire
but it was also filled with many moments of happiness, friendship, music, laughter, travel, inspiration, etc
some highlights include:
-turning 25 and unlocking a fully developed brain (?)
-first time band leading at a jazz festival 😎
-releasing an album with my friends devon & raúl
-getting to work as a music teacher and grow with my students (they inspire me so much 🥺)
-getting to play a ton of music with wonderful friends
-adding a new member to simon and i’s family, mr meatball
-cooked a lot of food
-spent a lot of time in nature
-started grad school!!
-grew into myself a lot more, unlearning people pleasing tendencies and no being afraid to speak up
thanks to everyone who was apart of this year and let’s keep on going thru the next one 😜
yesterday’s @berkleeglobaljazzinstitute symposium was very special and inspiring!! we send the day celebrating the life of roy haynes, playing his music, hearing our mentors speak about his life and mentorship, and got to hear from Roy’s daughter, Leslie K Haynes, speak about her fathers life and legacy, and her own healing journey and work to archive his legacy.
here’s a bit of what we played in the amber ensemble: steps by Chick Corea, which Roy Haynes graced with his spirit on “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.”
thank to @albinsundstrom for the video!!
about two months into @berkleeglobaljazzinstitute !!!
things are extremely busy but just as fulfilling!! i’m extremely privileged to be studying music again with an incredible cohort of peers and legendary teachers.
be on the lookout for some new music these next few months 🙈
summer reflection!
looking back through my camera roll and realizing how much music i’ve gotten to make this summer, how many old friends i reconnected with, and how much good food was eaten has me feeling extremely grateful for it all.
excited for this new chapter in my life - i’m pursuing my masters at Berklee Global Jazz Institute this year. excited for the new friendships and new music to be made.
picture descriptions:
1.) trying out writing for strings again… stay tuned
2-4.) wedding views and crazy vendor meal
5.) goose who wanted to hang out
6.) mira wrote me the sweetest note on my first day of grad school orientation
7.) aughra
8.) sunflower
9.) me n chupa
10.) medford jazz fest
11.) charles river jazz fest
12.) meatball
13.) more flowers
14.) boat gig with friends
15.) ending to my song “may their souls rest peacefully” in reno
16.) even more flowers
17.) hair clip to match
18.) playing angelo’s piano
19.) che in a coffee shop in reno
