In many ways I see myself as a storyteller. Each one of these melodies is like a little tale, a way for me to take all these feelings, arrange them as sound in time, and present them to you in a song. It’s me, opening up to you, sharing what I feel and how I understand the world, and hopefully giving what you feel a name, a sound, a melody.

Like a good story, I wanted it to have enough space for you to use your imagination to make this music your own. These songs are really for you as much as they are for me. And the core of the song is the melody. That’s the main thing for me as an artist.

People like to look down on Miles Davis, saying he plays the melodies wrong, or think Monk’s phrasing is funny, that Duke’s writing is corny, Wayne’s melodies are too abstract. That’s all wrong. The reason we connect with these artists on such a deep level is the gift of melody. If I can give you a melody, a song, it’s like I’ve given life to a dream.

Neil Gaiman wrote that the right song can turn an emperor into a laughing stock, can bring down dynasties – and he’s right. I see myself as a singer and melody is paramount for me. Having facility is nice, but can I really tell you a story or sing you a song – that’s how I want to connect.

Jonathan Greenstein – Sax, Keyboard ; Michael King – Piano, Keyboard
Takeshi Ohbayashi – Piano, Keyboard
Joshua Crumbly – Bass
Jonathan Pinson – Drums

Mix – Vishal Nayak, Black Lodge Studios
Mastering – Jeremy Loucas, Sear Sound
Art – Gil Chen

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Records (c) 2019

The hardest thing was naming this EP.

I think I went through every possible cliché. Through every hip sounding verb, droppin’ G’s and replacin’ them with a ‘. Then, through every long and overly meaningful, multilayered name. For a while I stayed with SBQLC, which stands for Scenes from the Beginning of a Quarter Life Crisis. Until I realized this existential crisis was actually my life, and what I wanted to be when I grew up was happy, it was me who did not understand the question. There was the hood phase, with Becoming JG or Greenboi Music. The relationship status phase, with names like With Her, Without Her, For Her, Thinking Of Her, Missing Her or all five combined, not necessarily in that order.

To be honest, as I’m writing this, I still have no idea what to call it.

What I realized is this is a part of a journey. Another chapter in what I hope to be a great story. A quest perhaps. A search for a way to express myself fully. To have character. To be someone. To mean something. To reach people and inspire them to do great things. To write their own great story. To tell them that they can. And that what they are feeling is ok. To be part of their lives. To understand my own life. I know this sounds crazy. Like I’m a narcissist with delusions of grandeur. But seriously, this is what art and music…  more