Jason mraz autobiography of a yogi summary

This blog is part of a series of posts highlighting the 10 inaugural grantees of the Jay Kahn Endowment Fund.

Walking through the doors of San Diego Young Artists Music Academy (SDYAMA), everyone is made to feel like family. Down the hallway, Renea Flenoid – one of SDYAMA’s music teachers – conducts a Friday lesson.

“Show me the song you learned at home,” she asks her student as she plays a cheery tune on piano. By practicing music both at home and in class, Flenoid hopes students learn some valuable life lessons – including a creative outlet.

“What I really want them to take away [from this lesson] is organization and order,” Flenoid said. “But there are a lot of times they can’t express themselves through words.”

Keying into Emotions: SDYAMA History

Founded by George and Robbie Hill, San Diego Young Artists Music Academy’s mission is to enhance the lives of children and youth through music as a deterrent to drug use and violence.

At the organization’s start, the Hills noticed that children in the area were extremely talented, but didn’t have much to do in the community.

Through choir, piano and other music classes, SDYAMA serves several students in the San Diego community – but particularly serves many children in the San Diego Promise Zone, an area comprised of the City of San Diego’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Through the years, Flenoid has noticed music’s impact on students in the Promise Zone.

“Kids have turned around. So many, it’s like thousands,” she says. “They get to express their pain or whatever they’re going through with music. I think that’s what really transforms them.”

Generations of Impact

SDYAMA is an inaugural Jay Kahn Endowment Fund grant recipient. With the grant funding, staff purchased new equipment and built a brand-new recording space for students to produce high-quality audio and videos.

In that recording room a

[dropcap style="font-size: 60px; color: #ff0000;"] I [/dropcap]t was a sultry, starless night in June and his 35th birthday, Jason Mraz hopped off a plane at the Hong Kong International Airport for his second concert in the city. In the next evening, he would be performing before more than 10,000 people in AsiaWorld-Expo and, a few days later, a few hundred lucky ones in an invitation-only gig.

In Hong Kong, the singer-songwriter is often known as the guy who sings "I'm Yours", a song that had lingered on the charts and airwaves long enough to make history as the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 hit ever.

The first time he came, in March 2009, he performed before some 4,000 fans in Star Hall, a mid-sized multi purpose venue in Kowloon Bay. I was there, and I recorded a video with my point-and-shooter that would now pop up as one of the top results on YouTube if you search for "Jason Mraz in Hong Kong".

When I saw him three years later, I brought a bigger, better camera, a sensible pick. In the side pocket of my bag, though, was a pen and a two-column, ruled notebook that I would hate to carry on any leisurely occasion, not least a Jason Mraz concert. But I had made no happier exception than that evening.

[dropcap style="font-size: 60px; color: #ff0000;"] T [/dropcap] he idea of interviewing Mraz came to my mind a few days before the concert, when I realised my newfound identity as a reporter, albeit an intern. So I made a few Skype calls to Atlantic Records's New York headquarters, got referred to his tour manager Amanda Harrison (whom the singer said in his blog was his "Google Map") and finally to Chris, a local representative from Warner Music.

When all was confirmed, I marked June 24 on my calendar, and posted on my Facebook, "Hey guys, I am meeting Jason Mraz this Sunday for a brief interview, what would you like to ask?" It turned out to be one of my most "liked" messages. There were encouraging congratulations in the com

Two-time Grammy Award winner, Jason Mraz, hit the stage at CMAC on Wednesday, July 10. Bringing a night of positive and inspirational messages, Mraz rocked the Northeast shore of Canandaigua Lake, along with Ripe and The Molly Miller Trio in support of his 2023 release, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride.

With the threat of tornados from Buffalo to Canandaigua throughout the day, Mraz and fans were keeping a close on the weather. As Mraz hit stage around 830, it was clear that many fans decided to stay home. Thanks to venue staff for doing the right thing, as many lawn patrons were offered seats under the cover of the shell.

Getting the night started was Ripe. Fronted by Robbie Wulfsohn, Ripe is a highly energetic pop-funk band from the Boston area. Formed while studying at Berklee College of Music and working through the pandemic, Ripe has developed a mini cult-like following of music fans of all ages that keeps on growing. Pairing with the powerful voice of Wulfsohn were Christian Yogi Saint-Louis on guitar, Sampson Hellerman on drums, Jon Becker on Bass, Calvin Barthel on Trombone.

Opening for an act like Jason Mraz might be intimidating for some, but for these guys, not even the weather was intimidating as they dominated their set. Both Wulfsohn and Becker were all over the stage, never skipping a beat.

Ripe Setlist: Flipside, Stanky, Passerby, Say It To Me, Sussudio (P Collins cover), First Time Feeling, Noise in The Forest, Downward, Settling, (Goon Squad)

As Mraz took the stage donning a retro looking fit, the crowd is energized and ready to dance the night away, a common theme at Jason’s shows. Joining him on the stage that was backlit by large display screen was his Superband, a collection of nine other artists who were all ready for a workout, including Molly Miller, Billy Galewood, and other members of Bushwalla.

“Getting Started” and “Feel Good Too” was the