"Don't Worry, Be Happy..."

Instead of re-telling Bobby McFerrin’s bio, I would rather just list his many accomplishments and then talk about how he has inspired me in the entertainment industry by discussing his passion and inspiration.

·      Bobby McFerrin has won 10 Grammy’s,

·      Vocal visionary,

·      Vocal improviser with a 4-octave range,

·      Classical conductor,

·      Vitally interested in music education,

·      Collaborated with musicians, dancers and actors,

·      “Ambassador of both the classical and jazz worlds.” (Pittsburg Symphony, 1988),

·      Family man.

Chris Anderson, TED’s Executive Director, talks about the TED movement, which is impacting so many industries, including music, around the world. When I checked out hit “Best of the Web” on the TED site, I found Bobby McFerrin.  Having heard McFerrin’s music for years, I was pleasantly surprised to find a clip of him participating at the World Science Festival in June of 2009.  He demonstrated the allure of the pentatonic scale to the audience by engaging them in a vocal exercise and also showed his improvisational skill by singing harmony and an improvised melody above them. 

McFerrin’s style has blended folk, jazz and a plethora of world music inspirations in a cappella, choral and classical styles.  With his trained ear as an orchestral conductor, his singing expanded to encompass instrument-type parts as demonstrated in his 1984 album The Voice and his chart topping hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.   Jazz improv piano soloist, Keith Jarrett, inspired him; from there, he and his manager, Linda Goldstein, sought to develop his vocal career in a different way.

What impresses me most about Bobby McFerrin is the fact that he is constantly changing and evolving. Nothing is ever the same from concert to concert.  He is constantly pushing the envelope of where WE think music should go and finding his own mountains and valleys of excitement.  He is blessed and fortunate to have a manager, Linda Goldstein, who never tried to fit him into one genre.  Instead she worked to create one for him. 

“Bobby brings all the ingredients of life to his music, in audiences, in time and space, all the    colors and all of the cells and molecules, and light and history; everything gets supercharged in Bobby’­s presence. He can create something out of nothing, the way the alchemists would try to create gold out of lead.”  (Goldstein, BobbyMcFerrin.com, 2011). 

Bobby McFerrin is not merely a musician, or performer, or conductor…he is a student of life’s music!  He inspires me to push the boundaries of where I want to go as a musician and manager; to be that creative when it comes to my clients.  His enthusiasm jumps out: 

"I love to sing and I love to be adventuresome. It's like the thrill of your first hang-gliding experience, standing on top of a mountain and getting ready to jump off--you've got faith in this big kite in back of you. With me, it's the same way with singing, especially a cappella."

(Musicfolio.com, 2011)

References

 Bobby McFerrin: album reviews and ratings. (n.d.). Musicfolio.com: music reviews and ratings. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://www.musicfolio.com/jazz/bobby_mcferrin.html

1988., Asia., & album, t. s. (n.d.). Bio for Bobby McFerrin. Heinz Hall | Welcome to the Pittsburgh Symphony. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pghsymph.nsf/bios/Bobby+McFerrin

Bobby McFerrin hacks your brain with music | Video on TED.com. (n.d.). TED: Ideas worth spreading. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://www.ted.com/talks/bobby_mcferrin_hacks_your_brain_with_music.html

Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music | Billboard.com. (n.d.). Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music | Billboard.com. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/bobby-mcferrin/chart-history/7030

Oeser, M. (2011, June 7).   Bobby McFerrin Headlines 2011 DC Jazz Festival - eJazzNews. EJazzNews » The Number One Jazz News Website Since 2001. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://ejazznews.com/2011/06/07/bobby-mcferrin-headlines-2011-dc-jazz-festival/

TED Blog | Who let this guy on the TED stage?. (n.d.). TED Blog. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from http://blog.ted.com/2010/09/14/who-let-this-guy-on-the-ted-stage/extended bio « bobbymcferrin.com. (n.d.).  bobbymcferrin.com. Retrieved September 24, 2011, from http://bobbymcferrin.com/whos-bobby/press-kit/extended-bio/