Concerning Change

I’ve spent much of my career working to deliver solutions to environmental and social challenges. This has taken me across countries and continents. Through languages and cultures. My cameras has never left my side, capturing what I dare and communicating this with a wider audience. Some create change only through communication. I work and then witness.

Aesthetically I am pulled to situations where darkness meets a unique and sometimes unconventional source of light. This is not planned: it’s simply what I find beautiful. I haven’t always tried to make a deep artistic statement with my work. It has either called to me, or it hasn’t. This has changed with time and context, and my work in Africa is motivated by much more. It’s a love for the cultures, the vibrancy and resiliency, the frustration and pain. It’s a small part of a larger passion to help the world understand and empathise with many of Africa’s problems and celebrate in its beauties. To most on the continent, Africa isn’t famine or war. It’s the struggle to access clean water. It’s the joy of a wedding celebration. It’s the love for and protection of family. But maybe that’s still the same theme: a Canadian in Africa trying to catch the point where the darkness of poverty meets the unique light of human spirit.

Change needs people. People to believe. People to act. People to change, both what is around them and what is within them. The key is catalyzing momentum. Change is not broadcastable. Change is not prescribed. Broad change is driven by conversation, contract and commitment. It is built of millions of individual agreements. Millions of individuals who determine that the reason is worthy of their work and sign up. Sign up as One of Those People Who Cares. One Who Acts.

And so broad change needs widespread individual imperative. This is a fleeting phenomenon. A connection must be built with the individual. This connection can be driven by reason. But more often, and more powerfully, this connection is built on compassion, empathy and emotion. Art can do this. Art can create that powerful connection and instil that imperative to act.

It is sometimes difficult for me to accept that art can be this trigger to create broad change. The results are not measurable. The impact cannot be evaluated. There is overwhelming complexity in understanding how Beckoning for Change will drive positive social progress in the years to come. How the people here will react to and act upon what we communicate as art. But while it is difficult for me to accept how this will happen, it is impossible for me to ignore that it will.

For more info please visit: http://www.jpgmag.com/people/brendan

Brandi’s premiere album “Debut” won her the 2008 JUNO and she’s already jammed her CV with concerts in Japan and Haiti, at jazz festivals in Vienna and Chicago, and has performed at Carnegie Hall. It is not only her fiery bass playing and charismatic performances that are making people take notice, but also her innovative writing style with influences all the way from Mingus to Bjork.

Oscar Peterson said, “She is what we call serious.”

A native of North Vancouver, this “up and coming artist” whose career began performing in her teens with her mother, jazz pianist from Chicago Fran Jare, has since studied with jazz legends Neils Henning Orsted Pederson, Rufus Reid, Don Thompson and Danilo Perez. Presently she has relocated to New York City to study with the legendary bassist from Miles Davis’ band, Ron Carter.

Opening for top acts including Diana Krall, Dave Brubeck, and Chris Botti, and performing as a featured soloist with the Canada Pops Orchestra at age 21, Brandi has earned both critical acclaim and the title “Rising Star” for her charismatic performances. “Her music is picturesque and enticing…as she grabs the blues, dips into bebop, lays down a cool ballad…and will even have the listener dancing! Disterheft comes into her own and shows why she has been creating a stir …a remarkable talent!” – Jerry D’Souza, AllAboutJazz.com

Brandi’s sophomore disc was released in September, 2009. Featuring guests Holly Cole and Ranee Lee, her stunning new album “Second Side” uses lively, swinging grooves combined with touches of lush atmospheres with influences all the way from cool jazz to brazilian pop.

CONCERNING CHANGE

Brandi Disterheft passionately combines classic jazz and blues with the theme of change. Influenced by the legendary bassist, Charles Mingus, jazz has been an art form that historically brought racial and social issues into the public eye, and has since freed black Americans of the many prejudices brought about from the times of slavery. A powerful communicator and performer, Brandi performs original material that demands positive change for social justice in North America.

CONTRIBUTING TO CHANGE

Songs performed at premier event:

• “Blues for Nelson Mandela”
• “Beautiful Life”
• “Combien De Chances”

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST

brandidisterheft.com

BY RACHNA VOHRA

What if we got rid of all the armies

every single country

no need to train for combat

we refuse to fight you

we throw down our armour

and lift up our white flag

instead of erecting borders

we will break down these barriers

and welcome you

for this land is neither your land

nor my land

and when we say give me your tired,

your poor, 
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free 
we will mean it

instead of building walls

we will build relationships

what if we got rid of all the militaries

every single nation

no more purple hearts for bravery

here is a red heart for the preservation of life

mothers, no more toy pistols in the house

violence is not a game

fathers, no more making men of your sons

No more being proud of soldiers

violence is not an accomplishment

no more shooting ranges with target circles at the head and heart

violence is not a pastime

no more movies and video games with murderous plots

no more glorification of death

violence is not a form of entertainment

instead of handing them off to it

we will take back our children from its throes

what if we stopped all the wars

on every single land

instead of pointing the finger in blame

we will point out our own faults

instead of attacking others’ countries

we will invade our own conscience

instead of stabilizing the troops

we will stabilize our reactions

instead of capturing the land of the invisible enemy

we will seize control of our own emotions

instead of searching for weapons of mass destruction

we will seek out and destroy the weaponry of our own actions

we will demolish the artillery of our own words

and create peace in our own middle east

before we think of causing unrest in yours

what if we got rid of all the guns

and for protection, we carried around a thicker skin

no more training to kill the enemy

we will kill the enemy within us

instead of profiling the face of hatred

we will look in the mirror

and wash the hatred from our own eyes

instead of fighting the war on terror

I dare you

confront the terrorist within you

annihilate the enemy that swims in your hatred

be a soldier of your self

go to combat with your belief systems

declare war on your preconceived notions

take your ego as a POW and sentence it to death

instead of joining the army to be all that you can be

just be all that you can be