To Those Who Believe:

It's no secret to anyone who frequents this blog that music is a critical part of who i am and when i find something with layers and depth that really speaks to me, I must share. I just purchased the jazz album of an incredible young man from a lineage you may be familiar with, his name on and off stage is Kenneth Whalum III. The album is entitled To Those Who Believe.

For my generation--somewhere below 35 and above 18-- Jazz has become antiquated and we no longer spend time with this inspirational and culture-building art form. Most of our distance is created by lack of accessibility and connectivity. A healthy portion of the jazz artist we knew/know are at least 15 years our senior so we never found a connection with them, although a lot of that music was just as incredible. A young man like Kenneth Whalum who was bred musically by one of jazz's elite (and I'm sure there's more to his story that i don't know) has the proper foundation and the right placement to really be a torch bearer for the resurgence of a genre. He is authentic enough for traditional jazz aficionados who are usually more roped off in their own music VIP section, but he walks amongst the crowd of the socially aware, those who talk and interact with more people on a day-to-day basis than our parents, as a lot of our friendships and acquaintences are still closer to fresh than they are old; these people disseminate information like highly contagious viruses. Therefore I think this young man has the credibility and appeal to get people to listen to jazz once again. Here's a brief caesura, my dad would be proud of me right now.

Despite that last paragraph please don't make the mistake of thinking this was about his "hip" factor. The music is stellar, and this i know as i've sat in my dads car listening to jazz for hours upon hours through my upbringing, i've been to the record store with dad many times and also sat on the back porch with he and his jazz. This is character building material--and i mean that--, something i would recommend to every human i know. I will probably play this for my grandad and send a copy to my dad, I have already smothered my friends with this album (they were appreciative though). If you can give this a listen, i am most confident you won't return to me unhappy.

Click HERE to view the album.