Yesterday, I had the honor of giving a presentation to the faculty and graduate students at the Shanghai Academy of Arts. My presentation was appropriately titled: “Film and Music: Beyond Entertainment”. I thought I would take a few minutes to share some of the concepts with you.

As I expressed to the attendees, my goal was two-fold. 1) That they would open up their thinking about the role of the filmmaker and their intention for putting their work out into the world, and 2) that they would feel inspired and empowered to do something really great in the world. Referring to films like Schindler’s List, Gandhi, Avatar and Confucius, I emphasized what is at the core of my work and my self- motivating belief system behind it: “The combination of emotionally moving music, engaging stories and compelling visual entertainment can subconsciously transform the feelings and perceptions of millions of people in a matter of minutes.”

I shared some video clips from projects and campaigns I had done with my organization, showing how I use film and music as a tool for social transformation and to try to create greater empathy and connectivity between people of different cultures around the world. With each film, record, music video or show, I showed how they can integrate a socially conscious campaign, even if just in the area of awareness, and how the alchemy and potential reach of music and film can be one of the most power vehicles we have for doing that. Like the great late Fela Kuti, I truly believe that as artists we have the responsibility to use our talents for the betterment of humankind.

I broke down the three critical components of film and to music/sound, image and story. About music, the core of my expertise, I shared: “Music has been an integral part of our social DNA for centuries. It is the emotional and connective thread for celebration, ritual, self-expression, movement, media and communication. Knowledge feeds our minds; nutrition feeds our bodies; but music, like the unconditional love of another human being, feeds our very souls. More than just a source of entertainment, music is an organic and essential ingredient for transforming information, exposition and interaction into emotionally engaging and deeply resonating human experiences.”

I described the power of story and addressed how we all are pioneers in the Fourth Evolution of Storytelling: Interactivity & the Internet. (the previous three being Oral Tradition, the Printing Press and Moving Pictures (film). I, like many, am excited to see what the younger inspired pioneers of this new evolution will create, and I am further excited to create with them in ways that we can really touch peoples’ hearts and minds in positive and impacting ways.

I tried to share many of the concepts I wished had been shared with me when I was starting out in the business, and that I have taken more that two-dozen years to really solidify in my intention and convictions. These are not the standard teachings of today’s institutions and professional programs offering programs in arts and entertainment, especially not in China. That said, and despite some concern of censorship, I was pleasantly surprised at how open and interested the audience was at my somewhat radical ways of thinking. Imagine the exponential power if I had simply planted the a few seeds of consciousness for the next Steven Spielberg-like Chinese filmmakers of tomorrow.

I look forward to 2112 and the role that music and film will play in raising the vibration of the planet and keeping from falling off the edge.

This time it was back to church. Not your typical church, mind you. With the religious dogma often associated with the term, it may be misleading to refer to this space as a church at all. I would probably be more correct to call it a spiritual community center – one known as Agape, founded and headed by our friend – a beautiful and generous spirit himself – Michael Beckwith.

India Arie came out of sabbatical for a night to join Michael, his musical director and wife Rickie Byars-Beckwith, the acclaimed Agape Choir and an all-star band of esteemed LA musicians and singers to help celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Agape community. And Ms. Arie was clearly proud, as well as equally humbled to do so.

Through that humility, and in the center of all that love around her, she glowed. More than simply perform, she allowed the music and energy of the spirit to come through her – at times surprising even herself. She was truly the star of the night to those witnessing, while one of the most grateful attendees in her own right.

I have always loved India’s beautiful spirit, her entrancing voice and her personal simplified approach to Soul music that turns a concert hall into your living room and makes you just want to have her around. But this time I saw a different India emerging – a rising star stepping beyond her own stories of relationship and personal growth to turn her attention and ours to the a larger community – a global family, and using the music flowing through her to unite us in spirit and help us somehow feel both included and connected.

The expanding worldview was not surprising, however. India’s last performance in Los Angeles was as part of a collaboration with Israeli superstar Idan Raichel, entitled the Open Door Project. The two artists had been working on an album for some time and doing shows together around the world in the process. Some of the songs India perform at Agape were actually born of that collaboration.

I can only applaud when a pop star chooses to channel their talent and use their global spotlight to support a cause much larger than their own. The combination of fame and talent, as we all know, is a great way to bring people to any occasion, especially one with higher intention. And music is one of the most powerful ways to open their hearts and connect an audience more deeply to their own humanity and to that of others around the world, once they are listening. For many artists, like India, the shift to this place comes out of experience of unfulfilled expectations and being forced, usually for their own re-connection, to return to that original source and inspiration that provide the seed for that growth to fame in the first place.

The video below is India speaking at TED about her own spiritual and creative process from her childhood process through her meeting with Edan and her current relationship with her creative source and own truth and spiritual center.

The video below is from a live, 1-take session of Beautiful Flower, that shows India in her raw innocence – the imperfect perfection of humanity captured in song.

When I think of the unifying voice of a social movement, I think of two things: a hero or leader with a clear message and a musical theme to inspire and hold together those who follow. There have been many artists in the past associated with social and cultural movements: Woody Guthrie for the plight of the common man after the great depression, or Curtis Mayfield for the Civil Rights movement as the soundtrack behind Martin Luther King, Jr, or Bob Dylan for the 1960′s anti-war movement, or John Lennon for the Peace movement. There are obviously many more voices and causes worth noting, including more recent events including humanitarian concerts like Live Aid or current efforts by Bono and KNAAN, carrying the torch for crisis in Somalia today. One of the common threads helping to sustain and support each of those prior historical social movements seemed to be a unifying voice, and even a couple of key songs or musical themes, that underscored the common, memorable message, helped harmonize the demonstrations and gave a collective resonating voice to millions.

Although several artists have shown up to perform and show support for Occupy Wall Street, like Crosby and Nash, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Rufus Wainwritght, Sean Lennon, Pete Seeger and Katy Perry, I am still longing to see the movement grow and to discover who will come forth to create the unifying soundtrack that will resound loud and clear enough to help make a real impact, shape a clear direction, and get enough of the world to sing along to leave a lasting historical and cultural impression.

Following that the stage was graced by a who’s who list of musical icons, pop stars and jazz legends, delivering with jaw-dropping performances. Notable performers included Wayne Shorter, Kevin Eubanks, Kurt Elling, Thelonious Monk Jr, Kevin Eubanks, Jimmy Heath, Ellis Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diane Reeves, Ron Carter, John Patitucci, Terrence Blanchard, John Beasley, Chaka Khan, Chirsian McBride, Jennifer Hudson and Herbie Hancock.

The evening, hosted by Billy Dee Williams and Herbie, also included special musical tributes to Dizzy Gilespie and Thelonious Monk himself. I don’t know anywhere else, except in a week long festival, where you might be able to hear performances by so many musical greats, and certainly not on the same musical numbers together.

As if the program described wasn’t enough to inspire and thrill any audience, the evening culminated in a musical tribute honoring the Queen of Soul herself – Aretha Franklin who, following a medley of her work by the superstars listed above, brought the house down with a song by one of her own favorite jazz artists – Jame’s Moody – with a magical rendition of “Moody’s Mood for Love”. Aretha was in great form and herself humbled by the other amazing artists and friends there to pay tribute to her and the great American treasure called Jazz. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell bestowed the Queen of Soul with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz’s Founder’s Award.

Unlike other galas and award shows that bring together collections of superstars, the Monk event had a very unique quality that rang true in the music and energy of all present. All of the artists were there to support the music education for the next generation and preserve a musical form that has been an essential part of their own lives, music diet and artistic development. All stepped onto the stage with the greatest respect for each other and the music, like a loving family reunited, leaving their egos and their need to be the center of attention behind.

They honored instead the musical teachers who paved the path before them and the next generation of young players who they emphasize that we must continue to mentor to carry the tradition forward. The love and music that spontaneously flowed out of that deeper intention, along with the unmatchable talent and the sense of community working in literal harmony, was immediately apparent and highly contagious. The resulting experience transported both me, and the sold-out house at the Kennedy Center, through time, beyond genre and across a sea of emotions ranging from thrill, to awe, to laughter and even to tears.

You didn’t need to be a jazz-lover to appreciate the vision that each of these artists shared: the importance of supporting one of America’s greatest national treasures – Jazz – and the necessity of providing opportunities and music education programs for young people here and around the globe. It is only by investing in music and arts programs for the next generation that we will preserve and enjoy these kinds of experiences and connections in the years ahead. That realization and commitment is also one of the keys for creating and maintaining a true global community on the planet – through the universal language of the soul: Music.

There is so much I could share about Caetano, but I’m actually going to defer to another friend, writer and filmmaker – Peter Sellars. Peter wrote a beautiful intro to Caetano in this year’s program that is more eloquent than anything I could attempt:

“What if Bob Dylan was friendly and a great dancer? What if John Lennon was a world-class intellectual with an insatiable curiosity for Third World literature and a deep adoration for Hollywood cinema, as seen from the wrong end of the telescope? What if Stevie Wonder could see and he loved movies? Is it possible to imagine an artist whose coolness is so intoxicating, whose style is so spontaneous and immaculate, with a free imagination so charged with brazenness, heart-stopping defiance and heart-starting tenderness? An artist who, already by 1966, is both teenager and old master? Whose electrified sense of wellbeing and appetite for life itself could survive and defeat junta after junta? And whose joy and unrelenting, honest sadness allowed his generation to survive with him?

Caetano Veloso is a beautiful being so physically perfect and mentally dazzling, of pure feminine allure and masculine courage (or perhaps that’s feminine courage and masculine allure?), an aesthete without a shred of pretention and a rock star with impeccable, ultra-refined taste, a mover and maker in the world, a maker of movements, and a quiet, introspective witness, observer and library of secret testimony.

Caetano writes the best music for a sunny day at the beach, and the music you need to hear on the darkest day of your life, when you break up with someone you love. He writes music for the world we live in, and music that helped make that world happen. He also writes the music for the world that regrettably did not happen, but that, as you listen to him sing, still might.
His utopian melancholy is illuminated by a sensory thrill of sex, ideas, feelings and iridescent, floating-world dreams. Poet, performer, diplomat, essayist, sage and artist in the largest sense of the term, Caetano has given voice to a generation for several generations now.

In the early 1960s, Brazil gave the world the bossa nova, the art of confronting daily violence and brutality with sheer human vulnerability, of going up against steel and cement with the most fragile parts of ourselves. Caetano’s generation followed and created a soundtrack of elation as nonviolence, dance moves as acceptance, inclusivity and open-ended, moment by moment resolution. He made music that is irresistible as a resistance movement. His contributions to the history of music will outlive us all, but thankfully he is very much still present, still creative, still thoughtful, still surprising. He is one of the rare stars who also shines as a person.” – Peter Sellars

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since his early days with Miles Davis, Herbie has gone on to break musical ground in countless settings, mixing classical and jazz training with a musical style that could only be defined, and redefined as Herbie Hancock. Herbie is at once at home sharing the stage or the room with anyone, from Miles, to Sting, to the Ling Lang, to the LA Philharmonic…a list way too long to cover here, constantly stretching with borders of Jazz and the piano itself and earning him countless awards including 14 Grammys.

It is hard to imagine that I could find anything more inspiring that the musicianship of Herbie Hancock, but I have – Herbie the man. Not only is he a humanitarian and international figure of the highest level, inspiring Time Magazine to name him Man of the Year last year and the UN to bestow on him the honor last week of Goodwill Ambassador, but he is one of the kindest, coolest and most collected artists I have ever known.

I don’t know that there is a lot that I could share with you here that has not already been told or written about the artist Herbie Hancock, except for one personal story I learned recently from another friend and musical legend, Milton Nacimiento. Herbie and his wife Gigi honeymooned in 1968 in Rio, where he asked a producer friend to bring some Brazilian musicians by his hotel to meet and play for him.
During the performance, a shy young singer sat off to the side. Herbie asked him to come forward. When he started playing his guitar and singing for the american jazz icon, Herbie almost immediately interrupted him and left the room. The very confused singer waited until Herbie returned with a cassette recorder, sat down and pressed the record button and requested he continue on with the song. Herbie was floored. He had never heard a voice quite like that. That young Brazilian singer was Milton himself, one of the most acclaimed Brazilian singers of our lifetime.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yet, few people are talking about it; the media is treating it like a back page story and governments have been slow to respond. Bono and K’Naan have joined forces to try to change that: reaching out to media, the UN, aid organizations and you and I to stand up and take notice, and hopefully some action.

It may be that a song may not be the solution to a tragedy of this degree, but these artists are using their musical fame and global stage, along with the spotlight and influence they can create, to make a real difference. Bono and his One organization are working directly with policy makers, media, aid organizations and strategists to come up with real solutions – both immediate and long term. And, as I write this, K’Naan is currently on the ground in his homeland Somalia to meet firsthand with his struggling people, to bring a glimpse of hope to what seems hopeless, and to unite forces with those that might provide the resources necessary to bring the crisis under some degree of control.

K’Naan has always been outspoken on behalf of his homeland, but he is being called to step into a much bigger set of shoes to address the problem today. At least with friends like Bono, and their ability to reach the world’s ears with their words and music, he might finally be heard and joined by others.

This past weekend, 40 years after Marvin Gaye released the legendary “What’s Goin On” record, Stevie headlined a concert at the Hollywood Bowl called Global Soul. There may have been a several reigning Kings of Soul in the past 50 years: Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke…to name a few. But Stevie stood tall as the living and vital household name that could wear that thrown, if he chose to. Stevie is far too humble to stake that claim on his own.

The sold out Bowl audience needed no prodding, however. They gave The Man a standing ovation just for walking on stage. Stevie, after offering prayers and acknowledgement of those suffering in Norway and Somalia, spent the first 20 minutes of his set reminiscing about his childhood and first memories of music and all the amazing artists that inspired him as a young boy. He defined Soul Music, which he wanted to declassify from being referred to as belonging to artists of any one race, as music that the artist created from and truly felt in the depths of his/her heart. He even played and sang several of his old favorites. The one thing I really love about seeing Stevie Wonder on or off stage is his boy-like charm and the immense joy he exudes when he gets to perform.

The three-hour plus concert, under the music direction of Rickey Minor, featured several artists leading up to Stevie’s performance. The most notable of which were Nigeria’s Bombino, the Soul Seekers, Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones and the captivating newcomer Janelle Monae. Still, it is hard to hold a candle up to Stevie Wonder, even when he is singing covers in tribute to his favorite artists. His generous heart, unmatchable voice and songwriting, and joyful and exceedingly humanitarian consciousness are contagious and universally inspiring to all souls. His concern for music education was even embraced as he brought out YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles – the program started by Gustavo Dudamel) to close with an ensemble version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

While Eminem has been drawing some much needed attention to the city on a global media stage, Kid Rock has been contributing directly to countless causes.  In addition to the $50,000 in checks he cut for Detroit-based charities at an NAACP dinner last week, his new Made in Detroit clothing line will help provide college scholarships for local music students.  Kid Rock has long been known as a philantrophic artist, but it is great to see him and others who have had such an amazing reach taking real action in Detroit – the country’s worst national disaster that has somehow missed the media radar for most of the past 3 decades.

I personally want to thank him for his support of the film and the timely topics we are trying to inform the world about through Urban Roots. In his words: “Urban Roots is a very uplifting documentary about a much needed “thinking outside the box’ approach to helping save our city of Detroit.  It shines a light on a grassroots movement that is helping solve several major problems in our city — literally from the ground up.”