I love it how things come together when you're helping someone and they help you and are unaware of it. About two weeks ago I found myself in my friend Muhsinah's studio helping her put the track listing together for her phenomenal new album that I can't wait for the world to hear. In the midst of talking and brainstorming ideas for her project she mentioned that she was suppose to go to the Creative Mornings DC chapters anniversary party at Gibson Guitar Lounge but she missed it because we got caught up in creating ourselves. I had never heard of Creative Mornings so I asked her about it and she showed me the website....I thought to myself...How did I not know about this amazing world-wide organization!
As soon as I got home I went to the Creative Mornings website and noticed there was an event being held by the DC chapter the following week at NPR. I researched the speaker (Bob Boilen) and discovered he was behind NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series that I recently became acquainted with when a friend sent me The Robert Glasper Experiment's performance as a part of the series. Of course I researched more to discover that my alma maters (Howard University) premier Jazz vocal group performed as a part of the series right before Robert Glasper. At this point I was pretty excited and very interested in hearing what Bob Boilen had to say especially because he is a musician like myself and has worked at NPR for 20+ years and has implemented his passions to NPR's legacy. So I was ready to register for the event but I couldn't until Mon. morning at 11AM. I set my clock for that time so I wouldn't miss it.....and at 11AM I registered and made the cut for an event that sold out in 6 minutes...
Fast forward to last Friday Morning and I found myself standing in front of Bob Boilen's Tiny Desk that was set up for a concert.
Bob Boilen welcomed all 100+ of us to his desk and discussed his musical journey that landed him at NPR. His lecture was in line with Creative Mornings "Hidden" theme for the month. He touched on how people saw talent in him that he couldn't see. When he was in his band "Tiny Desk Unit," the owner of the studio they recorded at gave him the keys to the studio and told him he could use it after hours anytime he pleased but he had to learn how to use the equipment on his own. Later he was asked to composed music for Baltimore's "Impossible Theater" and found himself in the same studio he was granted access to...figuring out how to put all the pieces together to compose music for this theater...while wondering what these people saw in him to put such incredible tasks and responsibility in his hands. He stressed how important it is to see the talents that are hidden in people we interact with and being the catalyst to bring those talents out of them. People saw talent in him and making him aware of those talents have taken him places and put him in positions to help others.
His lecture reminded me of how much talent we are all surrounded by and how important it is that we motivate each other to chase after our dreams and don't take our talents lightly. If you know someone who has talent...challenge them to step into that talent because it's tied to their purpose to contribute to humanity. I left this talk motivated to reach out to my friend who I'm slated to produce an EP for this summer and I'm excited!!! EXCITED because this is an incredible artist and her music needs to be heard...her story needs to be shared...and I want to help cultivate that talent that is hidden.
After Bob Boilen's lecture, we were treated to a Tiny Desk Concert featuring Margot MacDonald.
Her performance was great!!! Accompanied by her new loop pedal (that someone in the crowd said she should name Lupita), her guitar, a bass player on one selection, and her sweet vocals, Margot's voice won me over. Make sure you check her out at www.margotmacdonald.com. In addition please do yourself a favor and check out NPR's Tiny Desk concert series live from Bob Boilen's desk HERE....And if creative mornings is in your city...do yourself a favor and check them out HERE.