The Mindful Bard: Vipassana

by Wanda Waterman
The voice Magazine, Volume 22 Issue 33 2014-08-22

Album: Vipassana

Artists: Eric Harland – Voyager

“The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation.”
– Eric Harland

“E-Land in the house
Layin’ down tracks
Tryin’ to promote consciousness
Come on . . .
It’s about you. ”
– Eric Harland on “Relax”

Eric Harland’s roster of achievements, collaborations, and appearances is jaw-dropping, and to top it all off he’s also an ordained, seminary-trained Baptist minister and has modeled for some of the world’s finest style rags.

The last accomplishment must be the ultimate “in-your-face” to those who teased and bullied him when he was an obese teenager. The lonely boy’s obsession with drumming turned into some pretty important kudos in his teens, and when Wynton Marsalis noted his talent at a music workshop it wasn’t long before Harland began the climb to jazz notoriety. (Read the rest here.)