From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
I usually start at the end. When you listen to a song for the first time, if there's something you remember from it the next day, that's where I can start writing the song. Whatever the takeaway is, that's the starting point for me.
I think music is a way for God to speak to humans. We have a connection through music that we can't find anywhere else. I believe that's why music is so important for society- its connection- its healing.
I want to take African rhythm and put it into classical music, European jazz, and symphonies. I want people to come together from all over the place, through music. That's my legacy.
When I play, I try to embody the most primal state I can- that's when you're strongest, at your most powerful, intuitive and convincing. Too much information and analysis can actually get in the way of how you would naturally understand and feel your way through the structure of a long, complex piece of music.
Song writing is about finding a vision that sets the mood and state for the work and process. Then you need to put in the time and the good vibes to achieve that vision.
I never had a conscious thought that music would be my everything, but I never had anything that pulled me elsewhere, and anything that threatened that sacred part of my life felt like an assault on my being and my sense of worth.
In improvisation on instruments, I feel creation is going a new path with every note, somewhere you haven't been before. You discover things, you're the adventurer in music. That leads to new songs and nice adventures.
Music is definitely a form of communication, and it gives me a good feeling. If I'm hungry and sit at the piano to play, I'm not hungry anymore. I'll forget everything when I make music. I think when we listen to music, it allows us to feel things.
When you're identifying talent in music or other industries- one of the most important things to identify is which of those individuals is able to marry talent with extraordinary drive.
Songs are like a cleanse for the nervous system. I put on She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel and I just suddenly felt psychologically lifted. There's something in the essence of this song… it's not just beats and energy. It felt this song was filled with beauty, mystery, and love.
I feel as if our world is moving away from the ideals we subscribed to, and I wanted to reflect that through music. I wanted to create something hopeful and uplifting from this dark material of our times as a metaphor for the questions we are facing as a society.
Music is also incorruptible in many ways. I can hear when music isn't authentic, or when it isn't coming from the heart and soul. Music is a pure, universal, language that can transcend.