I wanted to share with you the current music-driven fund raising effort by a friend of mine, Hunter Payne –  a great humanitarian and founder of much needed organization called Aid Still Required.  The CD features recordings by Paul McCartney, Ani DiFranco, Sarah McLachlan, Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, John Lennon, Norah Jones and more.

Proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit tens of thousands in Southeast Asia who are still struggling to restore their lives in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. Current projects include alternative, environmentally-friendly livelihood training in Aceh, Indonesia and a community tsunami early warning center in Peraliya, Sri Lanka.

You  can learn more about the great work of Hunter, his partner Andrea and their organization Aid Still Required at www.aidstillrequired.org.

I’ve admittedly been slacking on my bloggin’, despite so many amazing stories to share about recordings and experiences of the past couple weeks with inspiring artists from around the globe.  That said, I’m only going to reach back to this morning to share a truly inspiring day, blessed with a very rich and diverse musical palette.

I started my day on a beach in Malibu with an Aztec healer of over 50 generations, trying to learn the meaning of sound in a 5000 year old language based on “Earth Song”. I met Miktlan Ehekateotl Kwauhtlinxan (“Ehe” for short), the subject of a documentary film called Serphant and the Sun, only 2 days ago, but I knew we had to share some time.  Coming from an ancient spiritual tradition that believes in energy and vibration, as opposed to a God figure, as the unifying force of all living entities, and names their culture after the song of earth sings, he was sure to hold some deep insights about sound, music and the way we can influence our experience on the planet through these gifts.  I was not surprised, either, to learn that his first name “Miklan” also meant transformation.

We had a beautiful sunrise walk on the beach listening to the sounds the earth shared with us and sharing the vibrations, history and insights that resonated in our hearts and in our equally passionate and inquisitive minds.

My next musical experience of the day was quite different, but equally inspiring.  I actually spent the past 2 afternoons with Thelonius Monk, Jr, Kevin Eubanks, Roy Hargrove, Tom Carter and MC Supernatural watching the end-of-the-year performances by the students of the Thelonius Monk Institute’s High School Jazz programs.  Today was the true highlight with their very cool Hip Hop and Bebop program finale at Manual Arts High School in inner city Los Angeles.  It inspired me enough to decide to commit the supporting the program for youth with my upcoming EarthTones music and film project – Scenes In Jazz.

Well I guess that makes a good segue to my evening event with my friend, Jazz legend, Chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute and someone with the level of talent, integrity, and originality that transcends definition – the Honorable Herbie Hancock.  Herbie spoke about the making of his latest musical offering: the Imagine Project, bringing together singers and musicians from around the globe in a beautiful set of collaborations based on the theme of world peace and a common humanity among all of us- a perfect EarthTones fit and wonderful contribution by one of our leading Music Ambassadors.

“Music truly is the universal language,” says Hancock, “The Imagine Project will explore that concept across the globe, uniting a myriad of cultures through song and positive creative expression.  My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels.”

The CD from Herbie Hancock’s Imagine Project will be out June 21st. Check out the videos for some great inspiring performances by Herbie, Pink, Seal, Chaka Khan, Anoushka Shankar and many more.

Thank you for sharing another musically transformative day with me.