Imagine if you treated your car the way the Republican Party has treated US infrastructure, labor and the economy. Would you cut costs by delaying oil changes and brake jobs? Would you avoid replacing the brake pads because it was cheaper?

The Reagan Revolution did this to our country over the last 40 years. We prioritized profits and instant gratification over long term health for our nation, our position in the world and our people.

And it shows.

Some things have to be done by the government to make capitalism work. There have to be guardrails. We have to make allowances for those who can’t. The free market is not the measure of all things good. After all, child prostitution is – at root – the free market in action.

We must have a moral underpinning to the way our country works: in business, in relations between people and in our economy. Extracting value from a stressed community is not good business. Cutting off a mountaintop for mining and disposing the detritus in fishing streams is not a valid business model.

My Mom used to call this kind of thing: “blood money.”

And yet this rapacious, “extractive” model is represented everywhere across the world. Extract value from communities and the environment, bank the resulting profits, and make off before anyone is the wiser.

“Business is business” or “It’s all about the money” are the rallying cries of this model. Anything goes as long as it makes money. That is the measure and extent of its moral foundation. And because of its extractive nature, it is inherently short term. It leaves nothing of value in its wake. Only misery.

Contrast this to FDR’s investments in American infrastructure and labor. Was it expensive? Of course. Was it wasteful? Probably. All large projects are – just ask the Defence Department. But it tried to help people. And it broadly succeeded, though certainly not for all.

We are at another moment when we need to make investments that are in the long term interests of our country and our people. Big, difficult issues are on the table. There is work to be done. But hidden in this work are the seeds of change that are ripe with possibility. There are opportunities waiting to be realized – on issues that are long overdue for our compassion, inspiration and action.

And on the other side of that awaits the Beloved Community, a functional Democracy and a country we can all truly be proud of.

Of this I am certain.

Releasing the Strings of the Heart

Human – Georg Faust, campanula cello • Ben Dowling, piano

The project was so unlikely from the start. Two musicians from different worlds met on a flight to
Norway. A renowned orchestra traveled to California, allowing for a spontaneous recording session. Call it extraordinary serendipity. Human is a collection of improvisations from Berlin Philharmonic principal cellist Georg Faust and jazz pianist Ben Dowling. It is a magnificent celebration of heart within an ocean of understanding. It is healing music of profound sensitivity and gentle touch.

The sound of the cello is unique. Its human vocalrange, combined with deep urgency of feeling,
gives it a singular sound of elegance, heart and beauty. Suspending cello heartstrings within the airy and welcoming embrace of the grand piano makes for a sublime and mystical ensemble.

In an era when technology has dehumanized our interactions, Human stands in direct contrast—a
connection that is only possible with two people in the same place at the same time. Using wood,
string, space and air, this virtuoso duo celebrates the creative flow that can happen in
the inspired moment.

The connection, the music, the album. Was it likely? No. Was it meant to be? Oh, very, yes. Providential.

Immerse yourself in these shimmering, healing waters and let your heart sing.

Zawinul and Miles changed my life…

The first thing that impressed me was the different way he had the instruments relate. Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way was a complete surprise to me. It was 1969. I was 13, living in Vermont. I had never heard anything like that. I was hooked. Putting things together in a new way was what turned me on then and what turns me on now.

So when it finally came time to do my own project, I tore down the tradition and the influences, modeled different approaches with technology to see what would work, and then generated from that space.

The result is called World Rising.

Because it is.

I wanted a project that had a relentless groove, that was modal in nature, and that played with a multilinear sense of time ‚ with slow parts and fast parts all at the same time. I wanted to lose the 2-4 backbeat to let the groove be strong without it.

And I didn’t want it to be another “keyboard record.” I’ve been a rhythm-section player my whole life. The job is for the musician to carry the music, not the other way around.

So I invited some of the greats to play along – Will Kennedy, Bob Sheppard, Satnam Ramgotra, Mike Harris and the lovely and talented Mindi Abair. And featured some amazing new voices on the scene. And a really dear old friend who is no longer with us.

This is my offering. I hope you like it.

A “Visionsound” Experience

I’m the kind of person who likes to join influences that come from different worlds – in order to see what kind of cool things can come from that.

For years, people talked about “multimedia” like it was the future, but most people who talked about it were techies more than artists. As a person who straddles both worlds, I was interested in taking a technology – like DVD multimedia – and utilizing it for artistic purposes.

This was the genesis of the Path of Peace project – joining visual art with surround-sound inspired audio. It’s kind of a long story, but the short synopsis is that I got together with the best painter I ever knew—a guy named Mark Wagner—and created something that I hope will stand the test of time.

The Path of Peace is a musical project – based upon the music first. Then visual images – original pieces of visual art – were selected and “scored” to the music, fitting the images and their movement to the pacing of the music.

The result of this experiment is The Path of Peace DualDisc – which is a CD of the music and a DVD of the multimedia on a single disc.

The above is an internet-friendly video. But the real project on DualDisc is super high resolution that can be used for public spaces, meditation groups or on a living-room television set or computer laptop. It is a solo piano experience recorded in surround-sound like nothing you’ve ever heard. A full hour of music and visual art, in 12 delicious helpings…

Oh, and another thing: you can actually set up the DVD to play randomly, so it can become an environment for living, learning and processing.

The project changes the quality of the space where it’s played. It brings a peaceful, heartful feeling tone to a space. I think that could be very valuable as a healing tool. In life, there are lots of places where peace could do some good. This is a great – and easy – way to do just that.

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I’ve always been interested in music that creates a space that is conducive to contemplation, sensitivity and heartfulness. I am honored that so many have accepted “Ahimsa” as a tool for creating such a space in their lives – for personal healing and processing, for Yoga, for meditative practice, and for breaking down barriers that appear to keep us apart.

“Ahimsa” is the Sanscrit term for “harmlessness.” Gandhi used the term referring to the spiritual path of nonviolence. As someone who has always been inspired by Gandhi and King’s example, I felt that this word and concept was consistent with the intent and character of the music. It is peaceful, while it is thought provoking. It is interesting melodically and harmonically, while creating a very peaceful feeling tone.

I am someone who believes that music is a possible way to create peace in a real and practical way. Music is capable of shifting our state of mind faster than any other mode of communication. So this is my little contribution to creating a peaceful space in your personal life. I am hopeful that this sense of peace can extend to everyone you come in contact with. Wouldn’t that be an extraordinary outcome?

May your life dance in graceful, loving kindness.

Namaste, Ben Dowling

(Ahimsa was later included in The Path of Peace project)

I don’t produce music. I create it.

I’m not in the manufacturing business.

I’m an artist. A musical artist.

That is my position. We need a state change in the way we think of music, and how it is paid for. Enough with the manufacturing paradigm. It was never true in any case. And it NEVER compensated all of the contributors fairly. It’s time to be the artists we are, and to act accordingly.

How do we create music, that requires the active and whole-souled participation of our community of fellow musical artists? And how do we do that without using the rapacious, “extractive” business model that has its equivalent in mining and oil companies, in businesses that rely on cheap labor or others who squeeze their workers and creative partners? How, in an industry that has virtually dissolved over the last 20 years, can we continue to sustainably create the music that inspires us?

To do that, requires a willing investment of time, energy and the hard costs of studio time, mixing and the rest. And it requires this of every single person involved in the process.

How can we do this in an environment where music is essentially free?

We collectively need answers to these questions.

From the artist’s perspective, we can’t continue to conduct ourselves in the way that “producers” of music have operated in the past. We have to find a new way to do our art in a fair and sustainable way. And unless we are independently wealthy, we can’t finance everything on our own.

From a listener’s perspective, we can’t afford for musical artists to step back from creating musical art. We have to provide a modicum of support, if we ever expect the future of music to live up to the legacy of our history and our culture.

Music is a vital expression of our culture. It is the voice in the wilderness.

It has value.

And we have to be willing to pay for it, if we can.

Or all of this goes away, and we live in oldies radio for the rest of our lives…

OoooWee!

Our phone.