(rhythmic music) >> Music is so beautiful.

Its beauty is enhanced by the more you're exposed to it.

And if you're able to learn a little bit deeper, that's almost like having a deeper love.

If you could imagine love being deeper, why wouldn't you wanna keep studying and learning?

I mean, that's what life is.

(drum music continues) (piano plays) >> If you go to a live performance, in a way, you're a participant.

You can actually feel the music, the vibes of the music actually come into you, so you really are part of the performance.

>> In my dreams, I dream away, all that would do is harm.

Let the good in you and I shine as the sun.

If you are hurting, dream with me.

Let us discover where love reigns supreme.

>> The call and response.

There you go.

You know, I speak word, he speaks a word.

>> It vibrates through him and comes my way and I just grab it and go.

>> Doing as much as you can as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short, and the earlier we get started helping our community, the better off our community will be.

>> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here, the feeling that I was a part of a family.

>> Voiceover: Ivy Tech offers more than 70 programs with locations in Michigan City, LaPorte, and Valparaiso.

New classes start every few weeks.

Ivy Tech, higher education at the speed of life.

To get started, visit ivytech.edu.

>> Voiceover: Family, home, work, self.

Of all the things you take care of, make sure you are near the top of the list.

North Shore Health Centers offers many services to keep you balanced and healthy.

So take a moment, self-assess, and put yourself first from medical to dental, vision, chiropractic, and mental health.

North Shore will help get you centered.

You help keep your world running, so make sure to take care of yourself.

North Shore Health Centers, building a healthy community, one patient at a time.

>> Voiceover: Eye on the Arts is made possible in part by South Shore Arts, the John W. Anderson Foundation, and the Indiana Arts Commission, making the arts happen.

Additional support for Lakeshore public media and local programming is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) >> I've always loved music, first off.

As far as the drums, I attended a parade and the drums were so powerful.

I could feel it in my young chest as they went by, and it just kind of, it gave me a thrill.

I just wanted to be a part of that.

I couldn't have been more than eight or nine, but I didn't actually get a chance to play a drum till I was 12.

(drum pounding) (drum pounding) I grew up in Gary.

I recall before I had my drums, I had a nice polo bike, you know those with the monkey handlebars and the banana seat.

And this guy had a set of Ludwigs back then.

Unheard of.

So I said, "Man, look here, I let you ride this bike.

You let me sit down behind your drums."

So we struck of a friendship and needless to say, I would ride by his house every day.

But the way that I actually got drums, I came from a family of five siblings.

My mom and dad were divorced.

It wasn't my birthday.

I came home from school one day and a set of drums were sitting on the living room floor.

And my siblings didn't complain about it because they knew that I was banging on everything in the house.

You know, they were happy to see me to have it, and I was happy to have it.

Let's say early 70s, maybe late 60s, 11th Avenue and Gary Indiana had at least three clubs from each side of the street within a couple of blocks.

And you could go and watch great bands playing blues, R&B, and if you could catch one set, go across the street and catch someone else, you know, that's how vibrant the scene was.

And then a couple of streets over on 15th, you had Clayman's Show Lounge where you could see national acts like B.B.King, Bobby "Blue" Bland.

It was just a wonderful, wonderful time.

I wasn't familiar how important Albert King was when I got introduced, but thank God I was in the right place at the right time and managed to get that education from Albert.

He was very nurturing.

He saw I was a little green in certain areas, so he would show me how to do a Texas shuffle or a slow blues the way that he wanted it and watch his cues so I would know, you know, the dynamic range that he wanted.

But he was incredible guitar player.

I've even seen B.B.King come to one of our performances and share the stage, and those two would go at it and at the end of it, B.B.

would give Albert his praise.

And for a young man to witness all this, it was just incredible.

Oh, listening is paramount, and if you don't listen, you're not gonna keep the job.

Simple as that.

So I've become very sensitive when I play with other people.

(upbeat drum music) >> Interviewer: How does it feel to know you've taken something you love and shared it with another generation?

>> Well, this is the thing, Kevin.

What they picked up upon most of all was my love for it.

And in turn, they love it.

And from the looks of it, they taught you to love it.

So that takes care of itself.

So we're all on the same journey, on the same path, and hopefully we will get to the heights that we inspire to be at.

Music is so beautiful.

Its beauty is enhanced by the more you're exposed to it.

And if you're able to learn a little bit deeper, that's almost like having a deeper love if you could imagine love being deeper, why wouldn't you wanna keep studying and learning?

I mean, that's what life is.

(drum pounding) (relaxing piano music) >> I had a godmother that actually gave us a piano and I could keep the piano as long as I played it.

And so when we got the piano, my mother signed me up for music lessons with Dr. Granuel L. Whittemore, who was really well known in the community at that time.

I was seven years old and I've been playing ever since.

I grew up in Gary, Indiana.

We always had music around the house.

My folks bought me a record player when I was about five and some Nat King Cole Children's records.

And then I would play their records.

They had Count Bassy and Duke Ellington, and around that age, they would take me over to Chicago, to the Regal Theatre or the Tivoli Theater to see the live shows and I saw a lot of people when I was very young.

We always had people coming by the house and they would sit and play the piano and they would say, "Boy, I wish I had never stopped my lessons."

I would listen to that and I said, "Well, I'm not gonna stop."

Each year, we would have to play a recital.

I can remember this like it was yesterday when I was 14, I had a piece that I played and it got lots and lots of applause.

You know, they stood up and gave me a standing ovation.

When I got home, I said, "That's what I wanna do.

This is fun."

(slow bright music) (bright piano music) I played classical music until I was 22.

I kind of fooled around with jazz when I was in college a little bit.

It remained a mystery until I was able to get outta college and started going to some of the clubs and meeting people who actually played the music.

I already had the technique and theory and knowledge, but I just didn't know how to apply that to jazz.

Well, back then, the early 70s, there are about 30 some clubs here in the immediate area right here in town.

And so I used to go to all those clubs and when I became able enough, I played in all those clubs.

Sometimes we'd be playing at one club and then on break time, run down the street to another club to listen to somebody else's band.

It was really a great situation.

And the guys were free with their knowledge and what they knew, and so it made a great atmosphere for learning and listening to the music.

Nobody would be at home on a Friday night or a Saturday night.

Everybody would be out in the clubs and stuff.

If you go to a live performance, in a way, you're a participant, you can actually feel the music, the vibes of the music actually come into you.

So you really are a part of the performance.

(relaxing music) One of the differences is when you're playing by yourself solo, then you have to cover the base parts and keep the time and everything is on you.

If you have a trio, then I don't have to really play the bass parts and the drummer can help keep the time.

With the trio, it's lighter duty on me than when I'm playing by myself 'cause I have to do everything and make it sound full.

I was just gonna say though, that's the great part about being a piano player is that you can play by yourself.

So that's an advantage also.

My first teaching experience was teaching elementary music, which I did for 35 years.

Where I taught was Drew Elementary School here in Gary, and then I also taught at Valparaiso University Jazz Piano for 34 years.

And then I came to IUN, I've been here since 2014 teaching piano.

I see quite a few of my students on Facebook also, and they have really nice things to say and that makes me feel good that they got something out of it.

And there's several of 'em that went on to be musicians.

My thing with teaching is, is getting as many people as I can involved in the arts, they all I realize wanna wind up to be professional pianists, but at least they'll know what that's about.

One of the things that I like about learning to play an instrument is that I think you learn an intrinsic value.

It's not something that somebody's paying you to do and you're making money.

It's something that you get something out of that you did, you know, through your own efforts.

And I think that's valuable.

Everything's not gonna pay money.

There's some things that have more value than a buck.

If you're in a musical group, one of the things that you have to learn is how to get along with others.

And I think that's a pretty important lesson, especially now.

I was a cancer patient.

I still am a cancer patient, and I think music has a healing effect.

I did some reading and it actually has a medical effects like lowering your blood pressure and it helps with your attitude.

There's several ways that music can help you outside of just being a musician.

The arts add a sensitivity of the sorts to a person.

I think we all are in need of that.

(relaxing music) (drum pounding) >> Ah.

Ah.

(upbeat trumpet music) Now I was born to love, raised to be free.

No change by my mind nor feathers on my feet.

I'm a sole survivor, repairer of the breach.

100% natural, genuine living proof.

Stone the builders refuse have come forth to restore you.

Every moment of every moment from the beginning of time for gaining a reputation, me and murder scheme and bride.

The strong take from the weak, the salt of the earth, the very ones you victimize, you suffer your own hurt.

As the world turns, wipe the tears from your eyes.

As the world turns, stand up for your right.

As the world turns, feed the widow and orphan child.

As the world turns, speak truth to the lies.

As the world turns.

If I had wings, I'd fly away to a place where exist no hate.

If you are hurting, fly with me.

Let us discover where love reigns supreme.

If I had ships, I'd sail away to a land where I'm not judged for who I am.

And if you're hurting, sail with me.

Let us discover where love reigns supreme.

In my dreams, I dream away all that would do is harm.

Let the good in you and I shine as the sun.

If you are hurting, dream with me.

Let us discover where love reigns supreme.

Can you imagine a world with only tears of joy?

I can imagine a world with only tears of joy.

Well, his mother left him on the steps of the church when he was just a baby.

He never knew his daddy because his daddy wanted to be free.

He was pushed through the system from family to family.

No roots, no foundation.

Whatever the state is his identity.

Salt you hot summer night, yellow, full moonshine and so bright.

He's out there on the corner hustling.

That's what he's learned, the lesson of life.

Making money fast, the underworld is all he knows.

That's where he's accepted.

That's where they live by the coal.

Now he is a grown man, some 20 odd years old with the son of his own, he'll never love Caressa, no.

Now he's in prison for the murder of two men.

Oh, this is how the story ends.

He is another young brother caught by the code of the streets.

(clapping sounds) We all spring from womb and seed.

Born into a world of misreality.

Black and white, red, yellow, or brown, all spilling blood out on the ground.

The human condition, are you ready for ascension?

Do you need a reason to ensure love has so dominion?

The human condition.

(clapping sounds) In the twilight of the evening, I was walking up the street, sound of falling leaves rustles beneath my feet.

The north wind blew cold, gray skies look bleak.

When suddenly a stranger encountered me.

And this is what he said, it takes courage to look in the mirror and change what you see.

When conscious of yourself, love is strong, life is sweet.

No matter how hard you try, can't make time stand still.

Just know that your heart's affection sets the course for your will.

(clapping sounds) It takes courage.

>> When we are speaking, we're speaking about how we feel.

You know, it's a feeling.

So when that feeling comes out, it vibrates through him and comes my way.

And I just grab it and go.

>> And the formula is to like the call and response.

>> There you go.

>> You know, I speak a word, he speaks a word.

Same thing if you in a church, in a, you know, the deacons, the preacher say a word and the deacons say amen.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it is called response back to the days of the cotton fields.

The drum and the woodwind goes back to the drum and fife.

>> There you go.

>> You know, so we just kind of capturing that whole culture of that and putting it into word, you know, just a little different format.

So it is really, it's really exploration, Tony.

It's really exploration and discovery.

It's born out of just creativity and want to share what I thought was, it was important enough to come to me so I felt it was important enough to share.

>> And I thank him for bringing me in one, so.

(bright music) >> Voiceover: Doing as much as you can, as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short.

And the earlier we get started helping our community, the better off our community will be.

>> Almost every single professor I've had, I'm on a first name basis.

By building that relationship with faculty, I was able to get involved with research.

It's one thing to read about an idea in a book versus physically doing it and seeing the results.

>> Voiceover: Ivy Tech offers more than 70 programs with locations in Michigan City, Laporte, and Valparaiso.

New classes start every few weeks.

Ivy Tech, higher education at the speed of life.

To get started, visit ivytech.edu.

>> Voiceover: Family, home, work, self, of all the things you take care of, make sure you are near the top of the list.

North Shore Health Centers offers many services to keep you balanced and healthy.

So take a moment, self-assess and put yourself first from medical to dental, vision, chiropractic, and mental health.

North Shore will help get you centered.

You help keep your world running so make sure to take care of yourself.

North Shore Health Centers building a healthy community, one patient at a time.

>> Voiceover: Eye on the Arts is made possible in part by South Shore Arts, the John W. Anderson Foundation and the Indiana Arts Commission, making the arts happen.

Additional support for Lake Lakeshore Public Media and local programming is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(rhythmical music)