Artists

Jim O’Meally

Hi, my name is Jim. I want to tell you a little something about myself and my music. I started playing the piano at 11, my older brother was taking lessons and I could play his lesson by ear, I began to study formally soon after. Taking the route of music school, I developed the academic aspect of music, while trying to retain the heart and intuition of MY music. I excelled in my studies winning many competitions in the Baltimore metro area. I also played jazz, and had a Grateful Dead band that I played with. Classical music is great, I don’t regret the path I chose, but I wasn’t playing my own music.

I moved out west to get my masters degree and found my inspiration again in the landscapes of the west. I was made an assistant professor of music at NAU in Flagstaff AZ and continued on my academic path though I felt that something was missing. Music for academia’s sake, I used to profess that some of my colleagues wouldn’t know a gig if it hit them in the face, where was the audience, the people? Some students of mine came in one day and told me they had played in Yellowstone Park the previous summer and that I would love it. For the next six years I played in Yellowstone at the Lake Hotel; there I found my love of the outdoors and Native American spirituality to be the language I could translate into music.

In Yellowstone, I developed my musical intuition like a painter develops his perspective. I would do musical portraits of people. Having them sit next to me at the piano, I would “sketch” a piece that I felt would capture certain aspect of they’re character or appearance. I would spend my winters in various ski towns, Telluride, Sun Valley etc. honing my art and making people happy. I realized I had a magic, a magic to spread light and joy to the masses. I didn’t really understand it, a gift from God? Yes, maybe, all I know is that it flows out of me like water.

Today I continue spread joy through my music, trying to take people out of the dreary of everyday existence. When I record my solo music, I have no pre conceived ideas; it is all new, all free improvisation. I draw on nature, people, and emotions as a backdrop for the composition and then let my spirit and technique overcome me. I feel that this is on of the purest ways to play music, like grabbing a song out of mid air, they are countless!

Thanks for listening and enjoy!