'Black Zulu' ~ Review by Trish Hennessey ~ Hybrid Jazz

Gino shared this new song with me earlier today and here's what struck me about "Black Zulu."  It's a warrior's walk back in time … there's some Weather Report here and the fierce call of Chuck Mangione.  But it's more … Gino is courageous with his creativity and I feel the the passion at the core of this song makes it an anthem.  It's personal - I think of the President of the United States, who I love.  And his hard journey with racism, baiting and turmoil deliberately caused around him.  "Black Zulu" give me hope for 2014 - now the warrior is going forward!  Armed with confidence and geared for battle.  To pave the way for the America of our dreams.  THAT is what the song gave me.  Let it give YOU a gift - or a lift.  It will be played lated in the 3 p.m. hour of "Hybrid Jazz" this Thursday.  www.blogtalkradio.com/HybridJazzFromTrishHennessey.

If you strive to please everybody and be everybody's friend, chances are you're not making an artistic difference.  During our parent’s era “the baby boomer era,” being different was considered honorable. But in the Gen X era where you get trophies just for participating, they are afraid to stand out, its about their network of friends, not wanting to be ostracized, being a carbon copy of everyone around them. And that's one of the reasons music is so formula.

Music is best when it's individualized, when the artist lets or insists on making his/her voice heard, and not catering to the “suits” who believe they know best. Take the Beatles for instance, they refused to do another's material, insisting on doing their own and "Please Please Me" went to number one. They weren't afraid to go their own way.

Its not about believing you know better, like a child who thinks he knows more than his dad. Its about questioning authority.  Today artist seem to be afraid of losing Facebook “friends” and Twitter “followers”.  Today’s artists seem afraid to stand out, afraid of criticism, they don’t seem to want to be seen as different.

The “suits” pretend to be looking for the new and the different.  There are artists that have people dropping their jaws, chances are they're not going to last very long.  Just because some don't like your music and art, that doesn't mean you're on the wrong path. The key is to be different AND marketable. Look at Steely Dan, they put a twist to their music, and they were embraced by a public that believed it hated the jazz influences Steely Dan was selling. 

As an artist you're ahead of the game, expect to be censored and criticized.  If you're not experiencing resistance, if you don't find people trying to rein you in, chances are you're not shooting high enough.  Dare to be unpopular.  Because that's where the germ of true popularity begins.  Just saying …..

Everything must change …. Nothing stays the same …. Times, they are ah changin !!

Have a jazzy and beautiful day !!

'Black Zulu' Coming Soon

When you buy from an independent artist you are buy more than just a painting or a novel or a song.  You are buying hundreds of hours of experimentation and thousands of failures. You are buying days, weeks, months, years of frustration and moments of pure joy.  You are buying nights of worry about paying the rent, having enough money to eat, having enough money to feed the children, the birds, the dog.  You aren't just buying a thing, you are buying a piece of heart, part of a soul, a private moment in someone's life.  Most importantly, you are buying that artist more time to do something they are truly passionate about; something that makes all of the above worth the fear and the doubt; something that puts the life into the living.  - Rebekah Joy Plett ~ Much Love ~ Gino ~~~  God will take you places you never ever dreamed ~~~