Peace Activism

Bidin’ My Time.

Art & Culture, Conscious Life, history, Jazz, Lifestyle, Music, Personal, Songwriting / / 6 minutes of reading
For a while now the phrase “Bidin my time” has filtered into my consciousness. It’s an old phrase that I heard frequently when I was growing up. I’m not sure if it’s used anymore, but just those three words, when spoken together, hold a multitude of meanings. Perhaps it’s the political climate or maybe it’s […]

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DAYA Music Festival of Indonesia 2024 (pt. 3)

Art & Culture, Dead Horse Records, Full Gallop Music, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jazz, Lifestyle, Music, Music Education, Travel, World Music / / 7 minutes of reading
Monday, July 8, 2024 Well, it’s done, the festival has ended and to say that I’m humbled by the experience would not be the most accurate words to best convey the joy and fulfillment I feel. I only slept about 3 hours and yet I’m still pumped up with adrenaline from the activities of the

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DAYA Music Festival of Indonesia 2024 (pt. 2)

Art & Culture, Dead Horse Records, Full Gallop Music, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jazz, Lifestyle, Music, Music Education, Travel, World Music / / 6 minutes of reading
Wednesday, July 3, 2024Up earlier than planned but still, I was excited for the day. We had lunch at the campus. Today was rehearsal day for the upcoming fundraising concert held in the spectacular home of Dedi Panigoro. With the band – Deviana piano, Jennifer Vincent bass, Suhandin Kosasih percussion, and Wahyu Prastya drums, we

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DAYA Music Festival of Indonesia 2024 (pt. 1)

Art & Culture, Full Gallop Music, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jazz, Lifestyle, Music, Music Education, Travel, World Music / / 8 minutes of reading
In 2009, I shared a blog post about my first trip to Jakarta, Indonesia. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of returning multiple times, each journey focused on the discovery and promotion of culture and art—specifically, the rich and diverse culture and art of Indonesia. Most recently, I embarked on my fourth visit to this

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Tari Piring – Traditional Indonesian Dance

Art & Culture, Music Education, Road Life, World Music / / 3 minutes of reading
During the Covid 19 pandemic and choosing to self isolate, I decided that this was the perfect time to tackle some projects, confident that once this was all over, it would be difficult to come back to work on them at a later date. In the past, my schedule limited me from working on long-term

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Why Woodstock?

Conscious Life, Peace Activism / / 3 minutes of reading
When I talk to people and they ask me where do you live, my response is always, house in Woodstock, apartment in Brooklyn. The reluctance to let go of Brooklyn as my official place, because I do so love me some Brooklyn, is puzzling to me somewhat, yet, Saturday I was pleasantly surprised by my feelings about how much

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All In A Day’s Work…. part 3

Art & Culture, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jazz, Music Education, Road Life, Travel, World Music / / 4 minutes of reading
The final installment of my miraculous visit that became an unexpected journey. I would say that this is perfect timing. Why? Because in 3 days, I will back in the land of Java continuing another exploratory excavation of the hidden inside all of us. But before I get into all of that, I will finish

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All In A Day’s Work….part 2

Art & Culture, Dead Horse Records, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jazz, Music Education, Personal, Road Life, Travel / / 4 minutes of reading
Part two of a three part series about renewal of faith and the telling of an adventure that returned a lost heart. Mine. Let’s see where was I, ah yes….. The first day of school. IMDI- The Institut of Musik Daya Indonesia. I walked the lengthy road heading toward the school and what I cam

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All In A Day’s Work…..part 1

Art & Culture, Indonesia, Jakarta, Music, Music Education, Road Life, World Music / / 6 minutes of reading
“When traveling is made too easy and comfortable, its spiritual meaning is lost. This may be called sentimentalism, but a certain sense of loneliness engendered by traveling leads one to reflect upon the meaning of life, for life is, after all, a traveling from one unknown to another unknown.“ D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966) This posting is

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“Art for Art sake”

Art & Culture, Indonesia, Travel / / 3 minutes of reading
Here to report on my mini-quest to understand the “World” community and how being an “artist” fits into the grand scheme of things. People separate the “artist” community from the “everybody else” community. The artist has all types of myths shadowing their lives. Are they in it for the money or for the pure love

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Java Jazz Festival – Indonesia take 2

Art & Culture, Indonesia, Jakarta, Jazz, Music Education, Personal, Road Life, Travel, World Music / / 8 minutes of reading
Little did I know that the following month I would be back in Indonesia playing music with my dear friend and conducting workshops at the school. I arrived on Monday, March 2nd and it was much hotter than I remembered. I was met at the airport by a representative from the Java Jazz Festival and

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Is It Possible?

Conscious Life, Peace Activism, Personal / / 1 minute of reading
This peace thing. What is it about the concept of peace that people don’t understand. Why would anyone be opposed to it? Why would anyone support it? Definition: A state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations. If we go and kill “the others”, would we be any happier as individuals.

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