In the presence of greatness...Mr. Pharaoh Sanders

I used to tutor this 3rd grade student and I would always talk and make arrangements with her mother, never dealt with the father. I would occasionally see her father walking around the house but would rarely speak to him. One day I arrived early for a session and I knocked on the door but nobody answered. I realized that someone was playing jazz music really loud on the stereo (so I thought). I continued to knock and then the playing stopped and my students father came to the door. He welcomed me pleasantly and asked me to come in and wait until the student arrived. I was lead to the living room to have a seat when I made the comment, "I heard you were playing jazz on your stereo. Do you like jazz?". Mr. Sanders (sorry, the last name of my student was Sanders) responded by saying, "That wasn't the stereo, I was playing. You like jazz?" I responded by saying, "yup, I try and listen to it when I can." As I uttered my words I looked at him and then all of a sudden looked around my surroundings. I realized there was a saxophone, piano and some jazz memorabilia around. I then looked up and saw a picture in a frame with Mr. Sanders on it but it had a first name to it, 'Pharaoh Sanders'. I immediately has a spaz out moment and realized I was in front of Pharaoh Sanders, a jazz legend! Pharaoh played with John Coltrain and got his start with him. Of course the whole time Pharaoh smiled and looked at me as I was piecing everything together. This whole time I was in the presence of jazz history. Well, after I discovered who Pharaoh was I tried talking to him as much as possible. He was such a nice and humble man and I would always try and milk him for information. Well, if you haven't heard of any his music before then take a listen. Sometimes we may not realize we are in the presence of such rich history.

They perfect way to make friends is by cooking

We all love to eat. One, because of the excitement our taste pallet receive when you get a mouth watering meal. Secondly, we are human so we need to eat to nourish ourselves. Mr. Porter which is a site where you can purchase great mens wear, taught how to dress, pack for a trip, philosophy of great entrepreneurs and learn how to cook! They have a segment titled The Way I cook and in this episode they visit Mr. Oddur Thorrison who is a photographer. He teaches us how he makes his signature steak and potato cake, a perfect date night meal. For my gentleman, take some notes. Enjoy!!

Another summer 2013 anthem!

Crickets by Drop City Yacht Club feat Jeremih is a fun song!! I've decided to make a summer mixtape album and this is one song that will def be on it. Dang, you know what? I'll put the mixtape on my blog once it's up. Let's see if I get any downloads, haha. It will probably be a compilation of past and present tracks so be on the look out!! Upscale Hood Summer mixtape coming soon!!! Until then enjoy the video and song!!!

I'm a dancer stuck in a...dancers body?

I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again...I love to dance! Now, I've never stuck around a dance class that long. I learned everything from watching, dancing at the club or dancing in my room for fun. The one time I was committed to class I was taking ballet, modern and hip hop (all at once). Two weeks in I tore ligaments in my left knee playing basketball. Waaaccckkkk! After that I never thought about taking a class...that is until a good friend of mine recommended that I take a class as a form of stress relief. She told me that dancing makes me happy and I responded with..."damn, you're right. Taking a class once a week would be really good for me". Oh, its been a few years since the surgery. Sssooooo, I've amped up my dancing practice (at home) by watching videos online and just having more fun. I have also begun looking into some spots to take some dance classes. Any recommendations? Do I have an ambition to become a JT or Chris Brown backup dancer? No...well that would be sick but I'm in this for the fun. Plus, it would look cool on my acting resume. Here is a video by a super talented dance choreographer named Vinh Nguyen and a routine he setup for Fine China by Chris Brown. When I get some routines down I'll make sure to post some video of me dancing. Enjoy!!!!