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I had the pleasure to sit down and dialogue with one of today's top innovators in music, Damion Reid.  In this episode we discuss his early influences on the drums, one of which was  learning and being mentored by legendary Jazz drummer, Billy Higgins.  Damion discusses how he developed his sense of  value for the elders, and a deep respect for history and the ancestors.  We talk about how he came to know Robert Glasper and was  a big part of Glasper's early trios  which brought him a grammy nomination for the 2015 album "Covered."  We discuss his most recent project with the group Selebeyone, which includes  alto saxophonists  Steve Lehman and Maciek Lasserre,  MC's HPrizm and Gaston Bandimic with Damion Reid on drums.  Selebeyone's  latest album "Xaybu" is available now on all platforms. 
Lastly we take a deep dive into Hip-Hop and some of his favorite MC's and producers.

Damion Reid is from West Covina, California a city east of Los Angeles. 

He attended New England Conservatory of Music and The New School in NYC. 

He has toured and performed alongside Greg Osby, Terence Blanchard, Steve Coleman, Robert Hurst, Reggie Workman, Jason Moran, Ravi Coltrane, Lauryn Hill and many others. 

LISTEN HERE

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A LONG WAY FROM THE BLOCK PODCAST

This show gives me the opportunity to share with listeners one of my greatest interests, which is people and the great stories of their lives. Growing up in San Diego I came across all types of folks who had some type of influence over me. As I became older and stretched to see outside my city limits either through conversation, books, music or traveling, I gained a different perspective on the importance of culture, art, wisdom and what it means to be "educated." I have had the the good fortune to come across amazing artists from various walks of life such as painters, poets, writers, chefs, and more. You might hear a few more stories about jazz musicians, athletes, coaches and martial artists as those areas are near and dear to me. What I hope to achieve through this podcasts is to preserve the valuable information of those who have paved the way for me. The show focuses on their foundations, what was their childhood and family life like? What were the lines they knew not to cross? What were the unexpected lessons that they took with them? Through a conversational dialogue, listeners hear where they came from, who their early influences were and the tools and skills they developed along the way. I hope people enjoy these stories as much as I have.

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