traces of my music

Recently, I lamented the fact that I muse on so many topics on this platform, but rarely do I talk about music. I want to correct that because of how foundational music is to who I am as a person. With that said, allow me to (re)introduce myself.¹

My name is Robert (my family calls me Rob)

I am a piano player.

A saxophone player.

A guitar player.

And I don’t remember when music found me, but I know that song has been a part of my internal and external reality as long as I can remember. Music helped me survive a childhood that I didn’t understand and cope with a world that was strange to me. Melodies and harmonies would rest in my mind as a child and I’ll always be grateful for that. I credit Norah Jones and Alicia Keys for making tangible the fact that I too could become a musician. I credit the Temptations. I credit Ella Fitzgerald. I credit Xscape. I credit the hours I spent as a young adult singing love songs with no one to love.

And I tell these stories for my own benefit mostly. Music was and is a lifeline that supports me and has pulled me through every type of hell one could imagine. And these days I sing in the morning. I sing on my walks. I sing before I open my eyes because I have something to sing about. And so…I introduce myself again as one that music has loved and one that loves music back.

Bless ya’ll.

1. If you understand the title of this post…I love you and you know me a bit better than I would like haha.