Mind Scraps: Hitting the Notes or Touching the Soul

Saturday night Playa del Carmen hosted a pre-concert for its International Jazz Festival coming up in November. The main attractions for the 2010 summer highlight includeded smooth jazz singer/songwriter Phil Perry and renowned jazz pop singer Bryan McKnight.

Admittedly, I don’t know Perry’s music too well. His performance was fun. I felt his heart and passion for his music, but I can’t say his concert really touched me the way some artists can.

McKnight’s performance, even less so. Yes, Bryan has a beautiful voice. Yes, he can do fancy scales. But, the entire time, he was putting on a show. And that’s exactly what I got from the experience. A talented, seasoned artist doing no more than putting on a show. I didn’t feel his heart, or his passion. It simply wasn’t there. I imagine after his professed 21 years in the biz, it could be difficult to deliver heart every time, for every concert. One song… I thought I started to feel it come through. But that’s it. Thus, I enjoyed the music, the clear notes. But, I left the concert feeling a yearning for more…

So who touches me? That night of the concert, as I felt a lack of spirit, my thoughts wandered to Paul Potts and his performance on Britian’s Got Talent. I’ve watched the video below a countless number of times. My eyes still well up when I watch it:

A true example of an artist pouring his heart out.

Another that came to mind, is a young man I met recently in Cancun, MX. He might not hit every note, clear and sharp (yet, with a bit a voice training I feel he very easily could). Yet his voice is saturated with spirit. He’s singing for the sheer joy of singing… sharing what’s inside the best way he can… through his voice. Every time I hear him sing, whether in person or on video, his sweet, pure voice brings a smile to my lips and my heart.

There’s more to sharing music than just hitting the notes clearly…

Popularity: 5% [?]

This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 5:41 pm. It is filed under alive, Inspirational, Latin America, Mexico, Mind Scraps, Music, Musings, passion and tagged with videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.