Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.
I met Cliff while we were both gardening on the rooftop of Maurice Tempelsman. Maurice passed away last year and he had one of the most luscious penthouse roof gardens on Park Avenue. A place filled with trees, shrubs and tropical plants deserving of a king.
Maurice had been one of the worlds most in demand diamond cutters and traders in the world in his heyday and we heard he had been Jackie Onassis ‘escort’ for some time. A true gentleman, lover of plants and birds and always ready to have a friendly chat with us when we were doing work on his little sanctuary.
But I want to tell you about Cliff. Cliff is a soul singer, grew up in Jamaica and lived in LA and London and he has toured the world with various artists.
Last fall I recorded some vocal tracks he was preparing for a demo and he blew me away. Just nailed it and added layer after layer of rock solid tracks on top of the arrangement like it was nothing. Real old school recording skills. No auto tune, no artificial anything needed.
Cliff just called me to congratulate me on getting my ‘psychedelic mentorship’ certificate from Onaya. A course I took last fall that I will probably tell you more about in another post. We chatted about this and that and did a little dreaming about setting up a spot in Jamaica with a little veggie garden and some fruit trees and probably some ganja.
I mention Cliff because like Maurice, he’s an OG gentleman. He makes calls when others just send a text message or e-mail. He encourages me to keep dreaming and pursuing the things that genuinely make me happy. He carries music deep in his heart and brings that joy and positivity to every interaction.
We all go through ups and downs, meet people above and below our pay grade and have good and bad days. Cliff keeps reminding me that the gift of music is one of the greatest blessings we can carry. And even if the compensation is often abysmal, the rewards are found in an open heart, joyous moments and an instant connection with anyone who is willing to listen.
I’m really glad I met this man and really hope that we will sit under some Banana tree one day and roll up a big spliff while we watch the sunset.
We all need someone who sounds just like Marvin Gaye to call us and ask ‘what’s going on?’ every once in a while. Blessings!!!