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Nathaniel Wade

@nathanielwade

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Sometimes Actor, sometimes Trumpet Player. Toot toot 🎺

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Wow. As the legendary Mr @markkavuma would say, “What a time what a time”.

My intuition has always told me that an opportunity would come my way that I wouldn’t be able to turn away from. That I’d return to stage in a way that felt right, that felt empowering and exciting. What a time it’s been so far. Lots of resting on pre-existing foundations but also marrying that with who I am currently. It’s been healing to say the least. Pairing that with the opportunity to be in my home away from home, Paris, and being able to be inspired so deeply by singers and musicians who I admire SO much. The spirit is indeed leading. Let us all be brave enough to hear the call and step into our power ✨ by @nathanielwade

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2 days ago

I turned 31 last week 🎂! In amongst all the chaos of directing a show and being in a show myself (more on that later), I took a trip to Paris for the weekend. It was the perfect way to ground myself before work would inevitably take over my schedule 😵‍💫 The last year has been so surreal, I don’t even know where to begin……I keep coming back to the word ‘surreal’ because for the first time in a very long time I am fully backing myself and leaning into what makes me great and in many ways that feels alien…..BUT, It really does make all the difference when you stop selling yourself short and you step into every inch of your greatness. To honour my 31 years of life, here are 31 thoughts. Enjoy! by @nathanielwade

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14 days ago

There is so much to be said about the different jazz scenes around the world. London, Paris, New York, I’ve had the pleasure of observing so much in such a short amount of time in these beautiful cities. The historical context of how each place established its voice is so fascinating to me. Paris being a place where a lot of Black American musicians first visited on tour and it being a life changing moment for so many. This is still the case today and the energy and respect French audiences have for the artists and this music is beautiful! Or in London where a deep love and appreciation for New Orleans swing and Trad Jazz have been a lot of what has propped up the scene historically. (More on this later). And then there’s New York. As many of you know, I went to New York last year for the first time and that trip in March changed my life. Whenever I’m back in London and I allow my mind to wander, I often go back to all the gigs, jams sessions and late night talks. Conversations with pianists about that one Horace Silver album that doesn’t get spoken about enough or with a singer detailing how Carmen McRae is their main source of inspiration. I am suddenly in a space where this music I deeply love is given the space to expand and thrive but most importantly, be respected in ways I’ve not experienced anywhere else. Not as a lovely walk down memory lane but as a living breathing entity that informs all we do. I miss New York, I miss catching half empty sets at ornithology and hearing one of the most beautiful piano solos or going to smalls at 1:30am and about 8 horn players are shredding through Crazeology. I get to hear tunes by Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, Cedar Walton, Monk and Donald Byrd, tunes that aren’t always played. There is time and space for it all. Space to sit with the complexities and legacy of this music we call Jazz. I’ll be back soon. ❤️ by @nathanielwade

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2 months ago

There is something so deeply magical about the power of the mind. Claiming things out loud and then having the audacity to believe them, with every fibre of your being you believe them and then watch as they materialise before your very eyes. This year I was moved to go to the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe. Artistically it felt urgent, like there was something I needed to see or words that needed to find me. I want to shoutout @nickybenedettiofficial and the @edintfest team for organising such an important programme of events. ‘All Rise’ is the theme for this year’s festival and I cannot think of a more fitting title for what the world needs right now. We indeed need to all rise. Rise into our purpose, rise into our power, rise into our ability to call out and fight against ever increasing injustices across the globe, rise into leading from love and not fear. I leave Edinburgh feeling incredibly inspired and eternally grateful for what I experienced. From the Jazz at Lincoln centre orchestra performing Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige to panel discussions with Bryan Stevenson and Amy Goodman or to ending the days at a jam session you had to run through crowds of people to make it to! The last 4 days have been an experience I will never forget. For now, we’ve all indeed got work to do, let’s get to it 👏🏾✊🏾

Shoutout to all the beautiful spirits I was able to meet along the way, your presence has made a lasting impression on me! Special thanks and shoutout to @bashiie_ for saving this entire trip by sorting me out with somewhere to stay. I am so deeply grateful ✊🏾❤️ She also directed a phenomenal show, ‘One House on Brick Lane’ with Mulberry Theatre Company that I managed to see. 👏🏾✊🏾✨ by @nathanielwade

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2 months ago

Letting go of the things that no longer serve you. No fuss, no drama, just simply let go and you’ll be surprised how effortlessly and beautifully things will shift into place in your life ✨I want to dedicate this post to the phenomenal singers who continue to take us all on a journey. Who continue to bring joy, to soothe, heal, inspire and create a space for all to sit in and dream. I am in awe of you all 🙏🏾❤️✨Thank you x by @nathanielwade

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2 months ago

Lock in 🫵🏾🫡 by @nathanielwade

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3 months ago

🫪 by @nathanielwade

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4 months ago

I find it so interesting that historically Miles’s life prior to the 60s isn’t spoken about nearly as much as it should be. There is SO MUCH to be learned from his journey. Perhaps the excitable, eager, bright eyed Miles doesn’t entirely fit the ‘badass’ portrayal of him in later years (more on that later!). I think it’s important to be open about who and what has impacted us along the way, especially when it comes to our artistic journey, not to take away from any given person and their own creative achievements, but to add some well needed context to our stories. Each detail beautiful and important. I think about the story of Miles not playing on Charlie Parker’s recording of ‘Koko’ (Cherokee) due to the intended tempo being too fast for him at the time. (Something he mentioned in his biography. The insecurity around not being able to play as fast as the ‘others’). What did that feel like? How did he recover mentally from this moment? I think about the famous picture of Miles staring and being in absolute awe of fellow trumpeter and mentor ‘Howard McGhee’. Images like these speak for themselves. it was the first time I saw a different side to him, a side that felt more human. Howard McGhee would continue to serve as a mentor and support for Miles, he would even at some point help him tighten up his embodiment of bebop language on the trumpet. (You might even be able to see some crossover in terms of their style and signature jet black frames!). We as artists should remind ourselves that we do not live in a vacuum. Connection, community and the sharing of resources and knowledge are all integral to our own creative development. We are stronger together. ❤️

“First you imitate, then you innovate”. -Miles Davis. by @nathanielwade

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5 months ago

Don’t mind if I do x by @nathanielwade

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5 months ago

I remember studying GCSE music and one of the songs we had to analyse was Miles Davis’s ‘All Blues’. My music teacher at the time eagerly nodded and smiled at me before saying “You’ll like this one Mr Wade”. I did like it, it was cool. It had a groove that I instantly recognised, a language I understood on a spiritual level but not yet an analytical one. It spoke to me, but it didn’t make me come alive like other recordings did from the 1940s and 1950s. I knew it was Jazz but it was different. It’s fair to say my soul was craving bebop before I knew what it was, alas there was no one around to direct me to Miles pre modal Jazz (Bebop Miles was and is a menace!!!) I think at the time it would have blown my mind to know that someone like Miles could have pivoted from the depths of bebop to his more experimental modal sound in under 8 years. Perhaps it’s blasphemous to say but I’m not actually deeply drawn to the musical genius and styles of Miles the most, I’m actually more interested in his vulnerability. Being surrounded by successful and more technically proficient trumpet players than you who had bigger acclaim at the time, but he studied, he watched, he listened, he believed in his own talent and ability and he changed the face of Jazz. (Not to mention the trajectory of how the trumpet is played). Being a black man in America, no matter the heights of success and all your achievements, they are so quick to remind you of your place in this twisted white supremacist hierarchy. The Birdland story comes to mind. Miles was having a cigarette break outside of Birdland inbetween sets and the police tell him to move along, he points to his name on the club but the officer brutally attacked him. I think of the resilience to bounce back from the humiliation of said incident and so many others. In interviews he speaks about these incidents and I can see the pain in his eyes. I can hear it in his sound too. I often forget he’s playing the trumpet and something more akin to an opera singer lamenting. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

Older pictures of Miles depict him smiling a lot, I like these pictures the most. by @nathanielwade

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5 months ago

“You haven’t met all the people in your life who are going to love you”.

There’s so much to talk about…..The last 5 weeks have been otherworldly. Beautifully strange in so many ways. As always I’m struggling to find the words. I’ll leave you with 10 that represent some profound moments during this trip:

1. Romantic
2. Considered
3. Unimpressed
4. Blooming
5. Distant
6. Heartbreak
7. Possible
8. Distraction
9. Focussed
10. Swing

Some big and beautiful artistic shifts coming soon….🎺❤️ by @nathanielwade

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6 months ago

Slow down…..You must tek time 💚💛🖤

Take yourself to a park and listen to some good music ❤️ by @nathanielwade

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6 months ago