Premiere: Jarrod Lawson wants us to Be the Change

Soul singing for a new day

More than a triple threat, singer/writer/pianist Jarrod Lawson also delivers on-point social commentary mixed in with his love songs and reminiscences. Reinvigorating the soul/jazz genre, Lawson swings, scats and—above all—grooves, with an enthusiasm and joy much lacking in the genre and, more broadly, in our lives today.

Coming out of Portland’s burgeoning soul music scene, the smoky-voiced virtuoso pianist has been sending positive ripples around the globe with his powerful message music. “Be the Change,” the title track from his new album and premiered here, is the fitting next step from Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke’s work 50 and 60 years ago, respectively.

Lawson told Elmore about the making of a video in the age of quarantine and deflected credit for his own contribution in his typical fashion:

“When I decided to reach out to Marcus Swanson at Swanson Studio in Portland regarding a collaboration for a music video, the opportunity presented itself to assemble my band for the first time since quarantine was introduced, which included flying out my dear friend, percussionist Sammy Figueroa from Miami. It was a wonderful excuse to stage a reunion with my musical brothers.

“Little did they know that by the end of this day they would have played ‘Be The Change’ about 40 or 50 times…(sorry guys!). The video shoot was an incredibly enriching experience for all of us. The crew at Swanson Studio were exceedingly professional, articulate, skillful, and sensitive to the vision and artistic orientation of the song. This was my first experience of making a video, but I couldn’t imagine working with a more capable and quality outfit.”