Yesterday we hosted a Soundslice “talent show” via Instagram Live. (We need something to do with all this indoor time!) You can watch the archived video here:

We were grateful to be joined by some of our musical friends:

• Mark Lettieri — Fort Worth, TX, USA
• Chris Payton — Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Antoine Boyer — Chartres, France
• Kaspar Jalily — Paris, France
• Horace Bray — Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Landon Jordan — Atlanta, GA, USA
• Michael Valeanu — Brooklyn, NY, USA

The show took the form of a variety hour. We asked the artists to tell us a bit about what life is like for them in quarantine. Then each gave us a performance (or a mini-lesson) and offered thoughts about what we, as lovers of music, can do in these times for the artists we care about.

Quarantine albums

In effort to add some light-heartedness to this strange time, we asked each artist to pick their “quarantine album” — that is, the single record they’d pick if they could only listen to one record during lockdown. Their responses:

• Mark Lettieri: “The Ultimate Experience” by Jimi Hendrix
• Chris Payton: “Live at the Cirkus, Stockholm” by D’Angelo
• Antoine Boyer: “Beyond the Missouri Sky” by Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden
• Kaspar Jalily: “Voodoo” by D’Angelo
• Horace Bray: “Monterey” by Milk Carton Kids
• Landon Jordan: “From the Mint Factory” by Mint Condition
• Michael Valeanu: “The Easy Way” by Jimmy Giuffre, Jim Hall and Ray Brown

Moving forward and supporting artists

To end each interview, we asked for the best ways to support them, or artists generally, in this time of canceled gigs, tours and other work. On the monetary side, advice was to purchase (rather than stream) music you like, consider buying merchandise, and reach out to artists for Skype lessons (even to people who don’t advertise that they give lessons — it may be a new, enjoyable venture for them.)

On the social/emotional side of things, there was a call to promote kindness and to be generally encouraging. Musicians (like all people) are social beings, and without the regular real-world interaction that we’re used to from concerts or jam sessions, it will be easy to feel down. So don’t hesitate to reach out to an artist you love and to let them know it. If you see some inspiring musical content on social media, it doesn’t take much to say something positive! Challenge yourself to not scroll past something that you enjoyed without saying so.

“Be excellent to each other.”
— Mark Lettieri
— Bill and Ted