♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.

(theme music playing).

WENDEL PATRICK: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

WENDEL: Hi, I'm Wendel Patrick, host of "Artworks."

The DJ can be many things: a storyteller, a curator of emotion, a sonic historian, a technician, and more.

On this episode of "Artworks," we explore the art of the DJ.

Jahi Sundance is a dynamic DJ, producer, and sonic architect, best known for his longstanding collaboration with Grammy award-winning artist Robert Glasper.

As Glasper's official DJ and frequent creative partner, Sundance has become an integral part of the band's live experience, weaving turntablism, sampling, and atmospheric textures into the group's fluid blend of jazz, Hip Hop, and R&B.

His instinct for rhythm and emotion adds a distinct layer to Glasper's performances, transforming each set into an evolving soundscape that feels both spontaneous and cinematic.

Whether on stage at the Blue Note, at global festivals, or in the studio, Sundance's contributions help to find the modern intersection of jazz and contemporary culture.

Beyond his work with Glasper, he continues to explore sound in his art, crafting immersive performances and productions that could challenge boundaries and elevate the turntable into a tool of storytelling and expression.

On this episode, we'll also visit DJ Mark Nadir at The Stu, his studio inside Maryland Art Place, for a conversation and a jam session with some of the region's finest scratch turntablists.

This is "Artworks: The Art of the DJ."

My name is Wendel Patrick, I'm the host of "Artworks," and I'm also a DJ.

I've been DJing since the early 2000s.

So, over the years, I would say that the idea of DJing has somewhat shifted, but as a purist, traditional DJ has the responsibility of setting a sonic scene for an event or an experience, curator of sound and historian in lots of different ways in terms of being a conduit between different cultures, sonically, taste maker, all sorts of things.

MARK NADIR: I would say DJing is basically about mixing music, um, creating vibe, uh, an atmosphere for people to have fun, to enjoy, to listen to, to dance to.

My approach, originally I, I, I wanted to learn how to scratch, so I got into DJing because I, I was intrigued by the sound of scratching, and so that was my main reason to grab, um, set of turntables at first.

But then I realized like, okay, there's party DJing, you can have a crowd dancing, you know, you got DJing, people who do radio DJs, mixed shows, mixtapes, all kinds of stuff.

There's a different subcategories within DJing.

There's turntables and people will do tricks.

JAHI SUNDANCE: DJing as a art form, it's hard to define it, I mean, DJs started out as people who just played records.

You just play the records for the people at the party, but really as for the people on the radio.

And then somewhere along the line, when Hip Hop DJing really started, really is the start of DJing for me, in my mind.

And that would be in the late '70s with, uh, Herc, and then followed up by Flash and all that.

But that category of guys, and they started, you know, Grand Wizzard Theodore, he invented scratching, and then we move on from there.

And then we get to, you know, needle dropping, breakbeat mixing, and just all the stuff that started out in the clubs in the '70s, where all these guys who were basically inventing all the things that modern DJs use today, across the board, that's the EDM DJs, everybody uses these techniques that these guys really invented.

MAN: The embodiment, living, breathing of this art form, this culture we call Hip Hop, is standing before you now, the father DJ Kool Herc.

(piano solo).

WENDEL: He was doing something that's, uh, is known as, um, people refer to it as the "Merry Go Round" technique.

And that was then taken and expanded on and, uh, perfected by other folks.

So, for example, you know, Grandmaster Flash had what, um, he referred to as the "Quick Mix Theory," which, um, involved actually touching the platters to, to, um, move from the same song on one turntable to the, to the, to the next without actually lifting the tone arm to do it, so it was a lot smoother, for example.

You've got the same track on both records, right?

And you can switch back and so this is this turntable, this is this turntable here, right?

So, if this is this turntable... ♪ ♪ And then this one, you come back here... ♪ ♪ That one, so it's sounds like it's seamless... ♪ ♪ But it's actually switching from one turntable to next.

So, this is the setup, huh?

MARK: Yes, sir, it's one of them.

WENDEL: Yeah.

MARK: One of them.

WENDEL: I love it.

So, um, when you have guys come through for jam sessions, uh, like how do you like, like how do you like to run it?

Like I see you've got like your, your scratch records here, you've got Serato up here.

Like what, uh, how do you like to, how do you like to get going?

WENDEL: So right now, the way it's set up is we have like three different setups.

This one is hooked up to the Serato, which is the digital platform that we were talking about, um, where you can use your computer and like basically throw songs onto the record.

So, we'll play, um, a lot of the songs, uh, through here.

These are set up for like scratching right now, we got the scratch records, there's the scratch record here, so that we have a turntable and a mixer.

We have two turntables and a mixer.

Somebody can, you know, if you have right-handed scratchers, you can use your right hand on this one with your left hand, you can use your left, same thing over here, but you can also mix music off your computer over there.

So, that's the setup.

WENDEL: Yeah, I didn't know any of that.

MARK: Nah, this guy.

WENDEL: So, I met DJ Nadir over 10 years ago, I would say at this point, time really flies.

So, the Baltimore Hip Hop scene is fairly close-knit, and for years I ran a collective, an improvised Hip Hop collective with DJ Dubble8 called the Baltimore Boom Bap Society.

And we would meet once a month and have fully improvised concerts with different MCs, different beatmakers, uh, beatboxers, and DJs.

And so, all sorts of folks in the community would come out, and I remember I would see Mark at some of these.

Yeah, Mark was always, you know, like present and just kind of quiet, uh, kind of stoic, let's just say.

And um, so yeah, we, we got to know each other, uh, just from being on the scene.

So, you know, over the years just coming into contact with Mark in, in, in different capacities and here at Maryland Art Place, he has this amazing space and, uh, this is one of my favorite buildings, I've got friends that do different things in this building, recording studios, art galleries, and so I would actually run into Mark and Mark would say, "Oh, we've got these, we got these sessions, we got these like DJ sessions," like "You should come through, you should come by."

And, you know, I'd always be busy and I'd be like, "Yeah," you know, "I'll, I'll, I'll see if I can come."

And, uh, at some point during one of the Bromo Art Walks, I came by and Mark, uh, always opens up his space and will have friends of ours, you know, from the Hip Hop community here performing or, um, you know, sometimes folks in the community will be here doing like release shows or, you know, different things of that nature.

So, I remember coming by and seeing like all this amazing photography that was on the walls.

And, uh, it was really amazing to find out that he was curating the space here in the neighborhood and opening it up to, uh, members of the community.

You know, I've been able to come by and bring different DJs that have come to Peabody, bring them here, so, uh, DJ Babu came here first, uh, a jam session, uh, DJ Robert Smith, one of my favorite scratch DJs from, uh, Berlin, Germany came and Mark opened up the space and, uh, they were able to come down and have some sessions.

So, uh, it's really just a very cool spot.

♪ ♪ MARK: So, there are people who play all kinds of music, and then there's people who play certain styles, like I'm more of a Hip Hop DJ.

I came up, you know, from the Hip Hop culture, and I got into DJing because of that.

Um, but uh, there's other genres, you know, uh, so it depends on what you like.

Um, I, I'm kind of proud, pride myself because I've never played anything that I didn't like.

I, I only play stuff that I do like, um, where some, you know, it's some jobs where you playing for like weddings or something like that, you may have to cater to the crowd, um, at all times.

Depend, you know, no matter who the crowd is, I like to have a certain type of crowd who likes to, you know, who enjoy the same type of music I like.

Yeah, so when I came up, you know, it was all vinyl.

So, we, it was the vinyl days.

We had vinyl, I'm, I'm still, I still consider myself a, a vinyl DJ.

And then, um, early 2000s, uh, it's a new, new technology came out, it's called Serato, and some other companies that did it.

It's basically a system where it allows you to use the turntables, but you can still use, use it through a computer and download music or get music from whatever your source is and, and act like you're actually using those records as those songs.

What that allows you to do is allows you to, uh, quickly swap songs, you know, go from one to another, um, and you don't have to carry heavy plates.

So, some of these guys are, uh, really good at their craft.

Some of them, um, are really like, they specialize on scratching.

Um, some of 'em specialize in all kinds of turntables, and there's a lot of turntables.

And so, it's, it is more of a turntablism-oriented crew.

Um, there are other crews and get-togethers in the city, people who do more, they focus more on blending like two different songs.

Um, you know, where you use a acapella and an instrumental, uh, two different songs and then you, you match those up.

Over here, it is more about trick, trick DJing and trick mixing and competition kind of battle style, um, DJing.

So, there's a lot of scratchers, so there's definitely some good guys who are coming through.

ROBERT GLASPER: And Jahi Sundance, I feel weird when I call him a DJ 'cause it, it doesn't really do him justice for what he does, it's, it's not just a DJ.

It's like he's a; he provides this emotional part to the set that no one else, I've never seen anybody do, you know what I mean?

Yeah, I've never seen anybody spin a record, spin something in the way he does it because he manipulates the sound and how it's moving, and the how slow or how fast or there's so much emotion to everything he's doing, and he fits it right in there.

Like, he literally makes me cry so many times, you know what I'm saying?

Like, and it really just takes everything up to another level emotionally, you know, and I don't, I don't know what to call it.

I don't know what to call it.

I just know when you don't have it, you realize you don't have it.

It's not there.

I went like this, my DJs off tonight.

He's not on this particular show, but his ass still came to the show.

So, he is just right here.

So, it's just weird as hell, Jahi Sundance, ladies and gentlemen.

So, he definitely fills a void that only he can fill.

DERRICK HODGE: Jahi Sundance is a creative force, he's a soul that exudes his soul through his art and it, I, I say he happens to DJ, but even calling him a DJ is limiting to him.

Jahi is a soul in the spirit that whatever creative information that he has at his arsenal, he'll take it and make something that's not just beautiful and unique, man, he makes it unique to us, unique to every person around him.

The fact that he's just so in tune, man, like there is no one that has his way of being patient, of having empathy for every situation, and being willing to jump in and create in the style of the situation.

And that's, that's bravery, man.

I call him a brave, creative man.

He's a Braveheart, and it makes so much sense, man.

I, I think he doesn't get enough praise for actually being one of the core pieces, man, of the sound and dynamic of The Experiment, especially on record, especially on documented albums, you know, he's, what he brings and energy exudes and how he takes even what we do and channels it through a lens to the people.

It adds things and makes, gives it an emotional bed man, it's, there's no one that does Jahi in this world.

And I, I, I, I know I'm not alone at in celebrating him for his uniqueness, man, there's no one like him.

JAHI: I've been working on this for a while to try to come up with a definition for it, but an explanation for it is something I have, which is I am a DJ who has been able to crack the code of improvised performance, live performance with a band in the space that I've created, I've managed to come up with a style that is all my own.

That once I came up with it took me to places that I couldn't have imagined.

I'm from musical families, big props to my dad, Oliver Lake, um, my brother, Gene Lake.

I mean, I don't wanna leave out anybody, my, props to my mom, even though she's not a musical lady.

It's a lot of us.

And we grew up in a music house.

My dad is a famous saxophone player and was having rehearsal when my mom brought me home from the hospital.

And so that has been like the story of my life.

I think a dope tradition in my house was that my dad would play different records for us to listen to at dinner.

And so, we would play a lot of Afrobeat records, he'd play a lot of jazz records, classical records, super avant-garde records, um, and then, you know, classic records, soul records, all the stuff.

So, growing up with all that, and then my brothers and sisters were super into the pop music and the Hip Hop music at the time, basically the '80s, that was the '80s.

And so, then by the time I got to the '90s, I was ready for all of it.

I had already been to a bunch of Hip Hop shows, my brother was in a bunch of different bands that were super influential through the eight, through like the '80s and the '90s when I was a little kid.

My older sister was singing backgrounds on De La Soul records, so I met all of them when I was a little kid.

And all those kinds of people were in the circle that I was in when, when I was very, very young.

So those influences were super heavy in my life, but mostly it was jazz, 'cause that's what I was around the most, was my dad and his friends and those shows and backstage at those shows with those people.

So, I started DJing when I was 14, I've been DJing for 30 years.

Ever since I started doing it, it felt like something I was gonna do.

I was playing saxophone, but my dad played saxophone, so that felt very, I don't know if anybody's ever felt that out there, who has, like, your parent does something, and then maybe if you grow up doing the same thing, then maybe you don't want to do it because they do it.

So that's kind of what happened to me.

And I was like, I'm not gonna play saxophone.

I'm gonna DJ.

And when I came outta college, that was it, that was the directive.

Go out and see if this DJ thing can happen.

And it happened.

I knew Bilal from growing up in New Jersey, and his whole team was from Jersey, he was living in, he's from Philly but was living in Jersey, and I had met Rob many years when they were in college, basically when we all kind of were in college.

I had met Rob, just met him.

Years later, I'm in a group with Chris Dave, uh, fronted, uh, it was Meshell N'degeocello's group.

So, me and Chris are on tour, I didn't know Chris, I met Chris in the studio recording for Meshell, um, because I had been working with Meshell, 'cause my brother was Meshell's drummer for, for 15 years.

So that's how I knew him, so I've known Meshell since I was like 13 years old.

And so, I ended up on tour with her and Chris, getting into this was super difficult; I was an opener for Meshell on that tour that I did back in like 2001 or 2002.

I was an opener on that tour.

And then the tour moved on, and I kind of was like, well, I can be the opener and just go out and do a set, I know how to do that.

Will you let me stay on stage with you?

And she was like, yeah, stay on, figure it out.

And so, I was plugging my turntables into like pedal boards and FX processors and just trying to figure out how I could do something because there was, there was always been DJs in bands ever since DJs were around, right?

Um, the function of those DJs has usually been to do lots of cutting and scratching that was highlighted at a moment in the song.

And whether that be the hook or a section for the DJ to do some cutting and scratching.

And that's always so dope to me.

I always loved it, but I, a lot like other people who had inspired me, who I had seen growing up, were game changers on their instruments.

I knew that if I had jumped into Meshell's band and been like, all right, where's the scratch section?

I'm gonna do some scratches.

I would've just fell in with the rest of them and nothing would, and it wouldn't have worked out for me, and I wouldn't have been happy with myself, 'cause that wasn't the example that was set for me.

And so now I have to go forward and create something.

And so, in Meshell's band on stage, she allowed me that space.

Then Chris was like, "Yo, my band that I'm in, uh, The Experiment is playing at Blue Note, you should come set up right here and play with us."

And I was like, "Bet."

And so, I came down, and it was Chris, Derrick, Casey, Robert, and me, and it was a late-night Blue Note, which is when they would open after the second set, they would do a third set with a different band that would go on at like 1:30 in the morning.

And we did that.

And I just came down and just sat in with them as a DJ, which was the first time that really happened and kind of showed them what I was doing.

And at that point, Robert was like, "Yo, I'm in the studio on this new record, you gotta put some of that on the new record" and that was Double-Booked.

So, I've been on every album since Double-Booked.

That's as long as I've been working with Robert, it's like 16 or 17 years.

And then in Robert's band, he allows me that space.

And that space is a space for me to access the entire music library in my head from 30 years of DJing, reference things, bring in other vocals, bring in textures, bring in speeches, bring in sound bites, bring in politics, bring in narrative to instrumentals, and bring a narrative to the whole show that can, when, that can create something that allows the audience to latch on to something that they don't have to manufacture for themselves.

So sometimes when you're sitting watching a jazz performance, a, instrumental jazz performance, you have to create the meaning.

But sometimes I can create the meaning for you so that then you can experience what Robert and me and everybody in the band wants you to experience, rather than having to determine it for yourself.

And it becomes this challenge of how do I string together words of people and sound effects and other things, and lyrics and songs so that they can emotionally connect with the audience, rather than how do I just do what I know how to do with this band?

And so, I went on this trip and Meshell and with Rob and was able to develop this style.

ROBERT: That's not a thing that everybody knows how to do.

I don't even know the other person that knows how to do it, you know?

So, I told him, he needs to coin a term for it quick because people gonna start catching on, but he could be like, but I was the first person to do it.

So, I'm like, you gotta, you gotta coin that Jahi, and it's very minimal, a lot of times you don't even realize it, but then you realize it, it's like, "Oh, he added some wind."

You know what I mean?

Or you know what I mean, he just added this or that.

DERRICK: And I first noticed that with him, man, going back to the first song I ever wrote for Rob and Chris and Bilal and Casey Benjamin and Jahi, uh, "Open Mind," we gave that piece to Jahi and he created some, some moments in that piece that made it feel like that is the whole spirit of the piece.

ROBERT: Literally the very beginning, "All that we are..." is the voices and everything.

VOICEOVER: All that we are... ROBERT: He just chooses the right things in the moment, and also, he's a musician; he already has the music in a real way, he already has a leg up on all the other DJs just because he's an actual musician.

So, he really understands how to make it, make what he does work with, with the cats, you know what I mean?

JAHI: Anybody who's watching this can have this experience in their life.

It's, it's really just the experience of getting to the top of your mountain.

That's what it's, that's what we're smiling about, is that you're looking at somebody and you know where they are.

They're the best, you know what I'm saying?

And, and they do (bleep) all the time that reminds you that they are the best and you get to be on stage with them and that makes you happy.

'cause it makes you feel like you're the best too.

You know?

And so, it's super encouraging to be around these dudes.

We always lift each other up musically and tear each other down, uh, jokingly.

So, it's wonderful to be around them.

It's, it's something I'm grateful for to be a part of this with specifically all of these guys.

And Rob is one of the most generous and thoughtful, even though you wouldn't know it 'cause he's always being funny, band leaders like that, there ever was.

Getting into like producing for myself, I was able to like express kind of the music that I really like, which is a big eclectic bag of sad music.

I really like sad songs.

And so, I made some sad albums.

This one is sad, and the next one is sad.

I'm always in the moment on stage, but when we get off stage, I recognize the history because my brain operates that way.

I can, I can't not see it, and I know exactly what we are and what's going on here, and I'm super grateful to be a part of that.

♪ SINGER: Stand alone, tear this... ♪ (theme music playing).

WENDEL PATRICK: "Artworks" is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.