2018 Is An Incredible Year
It's been a while since I've been able to write a blog entry...in the almost two years since my last post, I have:
Graduated from the University of New Orleans with a Bachelor of Arts in Music.
Won several awards and scholarships in the university, including the George Brumat Memorial Scholarship, the Ernest and Shirley Svensen award for Jazz Composition, and the Gregory Federico Outstanding Senior Award.
Managed Students for Justice in Palestine at UNO as president for the 2017-2018 school year.
Recorded albums with WAIL Watchers, Outer Core, Peter Gustafson, and the UNO All Stars Jazz Combo.
Performed at French Quarter Fest, New Orleans Sacred Music Festival, and New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Traveled to Colorado, New York, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Holland, and India.
Made tons of friends, visited family, and lived a lot of life!
...so naturally it's been tough to keep up with the website with all of that going on. This summer however since graduating I've been able to give the site a facelift and write a little about what's happening in my life. The future looks even more promising than what I already have been blessed with. Here are my plans:
Recording new albums with Outer Core, Vexed Perspective, and my own jazz group this fall.
Traveling to India in December to study Carnatic classical music and konnakol.
Performing as the leader of a jazz band in Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi while in India.
Traveling to New York and Nepal as part of the India trip.
Releasing an album with the great Geovane Santos which we have been working on recording all year.
Possibly moving to New York City in 2019, possibly to pursue a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance.
All of this is exciting, and also a little bit intimidating. But I'm ready to go out into the world and show them what I can do! I really want to thank so many people who have helped me get this far, through direct support and through inspiration:
My Family, Ricky Sebastian, Victor Atkins, Yotam Haber, Brian Seeger, Steve Masakowski, Gio Blackmon, Logan Schutts, Damas "Fan Fan" Louis, James Singleton, Jason Van Ness, Johnny Vidacovich, Jason Marsalis, Jamison Ross, Ingrid Jensen, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Gilmore, Justin Brown, B.C. Manjunath, and many others...
Time to check out now, as I am about to leave to play at Plus Fest! with Terra Terra. Have a great day!
