Jazzical

11/07/2024

Next week November 12 I am participating in a roundtable discussion about the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, in Carlisle PA, sponsored by Keystones Oral History Series and producer Bryan Wade.

I will also witness the screening of the film documentary about this interesting subject of which I created music for. Oh yes, I am also playing a Jazzical/UR set for the opening.🎹🎶

Here is the interesting part of this story: I met Bryan only once, at a Jazzical concert in Harrisburg PA last year for maybe two minutes. Weeks later we connected on the phone and FB, and a few months later we became friends. When he asked me if I would be interested in creating the soundtrack for this documentary I said without any hesitation “YES”.

You see, he read about my years-long work and collaboration with MET opera legend Kathleen Battle in “The Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey” which truly enlightened me on the history of Black America, and the powerful struggles our people have had to endure for centuries, some of which persist to this very day.

This experience has created a deeper friendship with Mr. Wade because of a simple conversation and a chance to do something with real impact. I cannot wait to meet him in person again!!😀

It is interesting that this event comes right on the heals of the national election. And of course, we are all feeling the effects of the results, positive and negative, no matter which position you take.

My position is this: we need more music, more information, more knowledge, more research, more talking with people from all walks of life, more humanity, more careful consideration of opposing thoughts, more thoughtful discernment on positions dear to ourselves. More music. More Jazzical Komitas.

More healing within our communities.

We need more of these things, and more!

I look forward to seeing you in Harrisburg/Carlyle if you are in the area. The conversation continues.

I am always rolling rolling rolling. Trying to do good. Forget the trying part, I AM Doing Good. Preparing for a mammoth 2025 season of concerts and special events with real impact on the country and the world.

11/02/2024

I love women who work in business. In fact I am married to a corporate woman. Yesterday I finally got to see where she works….first time in 4+ years!

10/31/2024

First day in Bennington for Sonatina Piano Camps consisted of a beautiful 3 hour drive, lunch with the pianists, then 4.5 hours of teaching (wonderful students👍), scrumptious dinner, and an hour long Jazzical Komitas concert solo piano with the Bentley!! Yes, I will definitely share some of this concert with you, it was 🔥!

Now it is time to sleep, one more day left, gotta make it count!!!

Rolling with the Bentley!!

10/30/2024

Bennington VT!!
You know what time it is…
Piano time!

10/27/2024

Happy Jazzical Birthday to my Z! 14 years old today!!🎉🎉🎉

Don’t ask me “How did the time fly by?” I was there for all 14 years, and I look forward to being there for her the next 14 years , and then 14 years after that, and so on, and so on…😀

I love you my sweet adult in the making. So proud of you! The light shines on you, the light shines in you. Always remember that!

❤️🌟❤️🌟❤️

10/25/2024

https://keystonesoralhistories.com/about/collaborations/
More than happy to be a part of this important project! You will be hearing more about this soon! Thank you Bryan Wade!

Collaborations The Need For An African American Curriculum Lincoln Charter School Help To Tell A More Inclusive Version Of History York College Of Pennsylvania Joel A. Martin Musician

10/25/2024

I am truly a stay at home dad. Half my day will be spent shuttling everyone around. And I will get to practice piano to!

10/25/2024

Today my daughter and some of her dear friends became members of the National Honor Society! So proud of her!

10/21/2024

Today was a morning of doctor visits. Monthly reminders that I must remain vigilant about my own health. And the prognosis is: everything is in pretty good shape and holding steady. That is good enough for the Bentley!

I decided two months ago to do a once every two months regimen of Rituxen because we thought at the time that it would have any tangible benefit of keeping that dreaded C word from coming back. However, this morning my oncologist thought I did not need it anymore so that course of action is hereby suspended. Sounds great to me!

Otherwise I would have not been able to see my daughter’s volleyball game today. 😀😀

Priorities folks, priorities!!❤️

All is great in the world.

Have fun everyone! Much love to you from me!

10/20/2024

Meetings all afternoon long, breakfast with our Japanese student, and now it is time to go to NYC for a few hours of coolness (wait til you see this)!

Rolling with the Bentley

10/20/2024

Going Japanese tonite, hosting a Halloween pumpkin and karaoke party for students from a high school in Hiroshima Japan! We are having THE best time. Our house is rocking! Viva Japan!

Yes, I like house parties. Some of you know what I am talking about😀😀

10/19/2024

Good morning everyone! This is truly some exciting stuff going down in my life on multiple levels. As things are in process I cannot divulge it, YET, but soon I will. Working, working, working, making things happen. God’s plan.

What I want to talk about is my last trip to Armenia a couple of weeks ago. Not the really cool stuff, but the backstory...the real one.

I did not know exactly why I felt compelled to go at that time, I just knew I had to go. I had a plan of action - to do some sightseeing, a photo shoot or two, attend WCIT 2024 - all of which I accomplished in 6 days. The concert at Ardēan / Արդեան was an extra bonus which turned out to be quite a pivotal moment in my story, and this is where I start my story begin my story.

The Jazzical Komitas concert went very well, though I did not realize it until the next morning. Until that morning when I watched the video I was very unsure - I thought it was a terrible concert but not for the reasons you might be thinking.

You see, I had a series of epiphanies all at once during the concert that took me to all kinds of deep, dark, and beautiful places. While I was playing...I had no control over them, so I felt helpless as I played for 80 minutes straight. I just had to roll with it. Yes, I was there with everyone in attendance, but I was also someplace else with my deepest thoughts. Every time I stopped playing, my mind and body would snap back to my physical location, but the feelings inside me overpowered me. The only thing that could stop this onslaught of emotion was to play more, which only intensified my soul. There were a couple of moments where it was just too much for me to handle.

I did not know why I broke down....

The next morning it hit me, the why.

During the concert, I started thinking about the trip, Armenia, the weight of Komitas on my heart, cancer, the last 18 months of pain, suffering and enlightenment, all the fears I kept inside, all that my family went through, playing new Jazzical Komitas music for the first time, re-uniting with old friends, making new ones. It ran the gamut and more. I felt that all of that interfered with my concert and playing.

That night I went to bed feeling terrible. I did not sleep well.

The next morning I woke up at 6am and did what I normally do - review the concert footage from my Iphone.

As I watched it, I thought "this is not bad". 20 minutes later "This is pretty good concert" and made some notes for future performances.

Then the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I was healed internally because I went through the fire and dealt with many of the emotions that simultaneously sustained me during the last 18 months AND caused me great stress and angst (sturm und drang). It just so happened that the great “day of reckoning” happened during this concert.

I got out of bed FEELING very different about me, my life, the past, everything around me. I transformed in the most beautiful and violent way. During that concert I felt the pain of being inundated with hundreds of shots, chemo, remembering the time when the girlz were afraid to come into the hospital room, all the concerts I gave during that, the recordings I produced from bed, going to volleyball games, taking care of the day to day activities around the home, writing and writing, telling my story with a smile on my face while feeling really crappy. All of it and so much more…

And in Armenia, a country of peace for many, I was healed. Re-born…

Shedding the old me. Being granted a chance to be the new me, someone I have been working on for many years to achieve.
And there I was…alone in my hotel room…but not really alone. God was with me with a mandate: “Get on with the living”

And that is what I have been doing ever since.

I am not making up for lost time. I am moving forward, the next step in my journey. I like this Joel, I am at peace with myself and getting better with every day. The music is definitely better….

And that my friends is my story

10/17/2024

A while ago when they were younger my girlz asked me “Who am I? Where do I come from?”

I replied back to them “You are made up of all kinds of mixed ethnicities, Russian, Chechen, Ethiopian, and Cherokee Indian. You don’t have to choose one over the other.”

“but Dad, who am I? What do I identify as? Am I white, black, what?”

Such a tough question to ask, an even tougher question to answer. Finally after a few minutes…

“You are right, I don’t know either, but your TRIBE will be the people who love and respect you for you, and you feel the same way about them. You are a child of the world. In that world you will run into people who will ultimately become your best friends. Some times they will not. But the people you can see forever with will be part of your internal world. Your tribe. That knows no boundaries. You will know them when you see them….”

Of course that was no answer to their dilemma but then they were young. As they have gotten older, and especially after their first trip to Armenia and all the people they have met since, they are starting to get the meaning. One day Dasha said, “oh I am getting what you meant.” Because little bit by little bit they started incorporating all the elements of our family and those around us.

They learned that they are people of the world but their heritage is already built in them. All they have to do is access it.

Yes, it is a harder struggle than just saying “I am Italian”, but the cool thing is that they get to be the very best of everyone they come in contact with, and that makes them unique, special. And people will want to be in their orbit….

I am proud to say that my girls are just like me, full of the world in all its multiplicities of light and life. And their tribe is growing and growing…

See what I am saying?😎

10/16/2024

A great day working on Jazzical Komitas, and then the fun started: hosting a Japanese foreign exchange student who is just lovely! We are already having an excellent time and it has only been 4 hours!

Thursday is an awfully busy day: more Jazzical work, then I yell and scream during Dasha’s volleyball game.😉😎😀 I am a zealous advocate for my daughter’s team, and a real pain for the opposing team. And this team knows me well from last year😜🤩

Yep, they WILL remember me…I have a way of getting under their collective skin.

And with that, I am going back to the Lab to work on a vocal project fixer-upper tonite. My other specialty.

Peace and love to you always❤️

10/15/2024

Just a little something from my recent trip to Armenia! I have so much more to share! Thanks David Jotyan for capturing these moments!

10/13/2024

Resting. But tomorrow I am up and running, things to do!😀🇦🇲

10/10/2024

Tonite’s fun: 4 tix for my family to Madison Square Garden NYC to see my old friend
🌟Mr. Stevie Wonder🌟See you there🎹

10/09/2024

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