SOUND OF LIGHT:

Music Photography and Conversations with the Artists 

uncovers 25 years of my photography focusing on the griots of African American and Afro-diasporic music. Following black music scenes in New York City and on the road, it is a love letter to the art of music and the art of photography. The book consists of images plus conversations with musicians about their artistic process and the spirituality of music. Seeing jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, rock n' roll, street dance culture and beyond, the volume reflects the relatedness of black music and performance styles, celebrating the common root of artistic expression from a personal perspective. Cultivating my vision as a photographer has meant seeing beyond the world of forms and discrete artistic mediums, allowing me to transcend the process of my rational mind to work with an iconography of the spirit. The two photographic chapters, OFFstage and ONstage, offer a soulful glimpse into the fullness of the itinerant performer’s experience. Those interviewed are all longtime collaborators—this intimacy and openness comes across in honest conversations about the creative process. Prologue by the late poet and cultural critic Greg Tate. Interviews were conducted with Robert Glasper, Angelo Moore, Marcus Strickland, Will Calhoun, Greg Tate, and Marcus Miller. Featured artists include Wynton Marsalis, Bilal, Ishmael Butler, Fishbone, Keyon Harrold, Parliament-Funkadelic, Jason Moran, Living Colour, Wadada Leo Smith, Chucho Valdés, Youssou N’Dour, Pharoahe Monch, Hassan Hakmoun, Randy Weston, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, Cavalier, Chris “Daddy” Dave, Storyboard P, and Salif Keita, among others.