"Positive Pop and Globally Conscious Soul"

“All of the instruments that I play are just a way to achieve a certain sound--that I can’t get any other way…I like variety and I like to be surprised.” –Derrik Jordan

“Braziliance,” – an album with a name that connotes not only the origin of the music, but also the radiance, brilliance, and exuberance of Brazilian sambas and bossa novas. Though it will not be released until spring 2005, this compilation of music is one to keep an eye out for. With 26 songs it’s a double CD project, which features some of the best by Derrik Jordan, an innovative and multitalented musician.

With quite a dynamic history of playing and learning music, Derrik Jordan has a gift for making every song sound unique. The 2002 album "Touch the Earth" was recorded with over thirty instruments just played by Jordan. These include the electric and acoustic violin, 12-string guitar, keyboards, congas, wooden flute, Jew’s harp, berimbau, claves, and many, many others.  Layered with a crafted combination of instruments, each recorded piece creates a full sound that is complex, yet melodically soothing and seemingly simple. A few songs are complimented by guest artists, who add in the bass, drums, didgeridoo, trumpet, and tenor saxophone, just to name a few.

Jordan said, “I’m interested in creating a world/pop fusion and Touch the Earth was my first attempt to do that within the context of a concept album with an environmental theme.” Having written all the lyrics and performed the vocals, Jordan says he plays instruments to support his songwriting.   

Embracing such a range of musical talent and reaching out with an upbeat message, it comes as no surprise that Jordan was first turned onto music when he heard The Beatles. “I was mesmerized by their songwriting and infectious positive energy,” Jordan said, also commenting on how he was “fascinated by their evolution and wide variety of sounds and styles, [which included] bringing Indian music into pop.”

Jordan’s most recently released album Super String Theory is an instrumental CD that features improvisation with the 5-string electric violin. Titled an “Exotic Duet,” it includes a piece with NYC Jazz vocalist Lisa Sokolov, who Jordan knows from the time they spent studying at Bennington College Vermont, where he received a B.A. in music.

With such dedication and inspiration it’s also no surprise that Jordan won 2^nd place overall in the USA Songwriting competition and 1^st place in the Gospel category for the song “Speak Through Me” from his 1997 album “Expecting a Miracle.” (Chosen out of 32,000 songs!) 

Considering that Jordan studied under two Guggenheim fellowship award-winners -- Henry Brant and Milford Graves, it makes quite a lot of sense that his music has reached such great heights, making songs that transcend boundaries. Jordan’s music most prominently emphasizes his quest, which is a leading path—intertwining melody with a universal sense of spirituality.

Through one modality, a Lakota vision quest, Jordan said he really got to know himself better. “I pushed myself past what I thought were my limits. When you are up on the hill, out in nature, and exposed to the elements for four days and four nights with no food or water--just your prayers and a sacred pipe and a sleeping bag, you get a lot of time to think.” He continued on by saying, “There are no distractions except for the distractions of your own mind. You get to see your own craziness, all the negative things you tell yourself - the ways you try to trick yourself - the ways you limit yourself. It's good to see that and to realize that it's just a deception. You could just as easily focus on the positive. It's your choice.”     

With this as divine insight and something we can all relate to, Derrik Jordan says:

Everything we do is political. Everything we don't do is political. Whether we like it or not, just our being here on this planet is constantly making a statement. So I would like to be conscious of that choice and make a conscious statement, something positive. I know it's not always easy to be positive. A lot of times I get pretty down, I mean we all can get pretty fed up and angry with the selfishness, inhumanity, and cruelty we see around us. I just don't want to add to that. I don't want to be cynical or pessimistic, even though that seems to be the fashion of the moment artistically. I always say that I have the best job in the world. I get to make people happy. I get to make people feel things, to hopefully lift people's spirits with music they can dance to or make love to or just dream to. Life is possibility. As long as we are alive we have a choice in how we want to show up.

I don't think that musicians have any more responsibility than any other person to be active. Musicians aren't anything special in that regard.  I believe that we all have a responsibility to make the world a better place, to help and inspire each other and ourselves…to be kind and love one another.

I think human beings have a remarkable blind spot, in that it's virtually impossible for us to see how we affect others around us. Sometimes we can get a glimpse of it. Someone might come up to me and say, "Remember when you said that thing to me? Well I never forgot it. It really helped me at the time." For the life of me, I don't remember saying any such thing to them, but they remember and it affected them in a positive way. We never really know what kind of ripple effect our good deeds will have on others around us.
 

I [personally] want to continue being creative and enjoy the creative process. But you know, if I woke up tomorrow and thought, "Well, I'm tired of doing music," then I would just stop and do something else. I'd be okay with that. But I don't expect that will happen. I'm pretty motivated. So many good things are happening right now. Who knows where it will lead?

I don't know if my music is going to contribute to making a positive change. I hope so. It only has a chance to do that if people hear it. If they can relate to what I'm saying and can feel what I'm trying to communicate and it motivates them in some positive way.

To find out more about Derrik Jordan, please visit his website: www.derrikjordan.com. 

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