This Album, Serendipity: Selected Works from a Pandemic, Vol 1, represents a project I have worked on sporadically over the last two and a half years. I began working on these songs in the summer of 2020 around the beginning of lockdown during the Covid Pandemic. Like most people’s experience, I didn’t have much to do at home, so I decided to get better at producing my own music. I have always been an acoustic performer, a saxophonist, but I have also been interested in the possibilities of music technology. This collection of songs represents my explorations and development in the realm of music technology. Along with my music making I did a bunch of reading and listening to podcasts. I picked up some books by Alan Watts and eventually found his podcasts as well. His thoughts on music and life spoke to me very deeply and I found that I was beginning to think about this project in the ways Watts talked about music. Here is one of my favorite quotes from him:

Understand the music on its own terms: as sound vibrations and manifestations of energy. Don’t dilute music by having to explain it with words. As soon as you use words to explain what is happening musically you’ve lost it. You have turned the music into symbol. You have changed it into a representation of words. Musical sound, vibrations of energy exist on their own independent of verbal explanation. It just is. There is no why or for what reason, no cause and effect. Music as it is for the sake of sound vibrations and the manifestation of positive energy. You don’t need to understand it, it doesn’t need to be explained, it just is, if you dig too deep you’ll just disappoint yourself. There is no hidden meaning or agenda, just let the music wash over you and try not to overthink it. (Alan Watts from Music and Life)

This music is dedicated to Alan Watts and Charles Mingus. Watts, because of his ability to put into words how I feel we should experience both music and life, and Mingus because of the spirit and energy I sense when listening to his music. I am in no way trying to emulate the music of Charles Mingus, simply trying to impart some of my own spirit and energy into my music in a similar manner. I hope you enjoy it!