I am grateful to God that I am able to express my faith as a Christian in a context of music that is one of America's greatest gifts to the world in the arts and humanities."

"Artistically, our creative team was drawn to the emotional character and beautiful nature of the language used by Paul to encourage his younger protégé."

" ... the use of that phrase represents what I perceive as both my artistic challenge and responsibility to God as an artist who is a Christian."

"...our faith in God inspires us and commands us to have the courage not to conform to the pattern of things in the world that are rooted in the absence of God."

"...these kinds of songs are what I often identify as "the gospel impulse"; an impulse that is clearly identifiable in many expressions of music that are derived from the African American experience."

Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography (1999) is the title of a wonderfully written book by Janna Tull Steed. Ms.Steed is a musician and an ordained minister of the United Methodist Church and she is a recognized authority on the Sacred Concerts of Duke Ellington. Her work in this area includes scholarly research, writing lectures, consulting, producing and performing. “In the Sacred Concerts”, says Ms.Steed, “Ellington reunited the strains of black music that had been divided into two types labeled sacred    and secular: the spirituals and hymns reserved for Sunday morning, the blues and jazz associated with Saturday. What he did was reclaim the sacred origins of jazz and demonstrate that all musical instruments could be employed in praise of God, just as Psalm 150 commanded.”

In the last decade of the 20^th Century, another recording artist has emerged that is willing to devote a substantial body of work to carrying on the tradition that was clarified by artists like Duke Ellington’s performances of Sacred Concerts. Her name is Ruth Naomi Floyd. She is a vocalist-composer and recording artist who since her debut recording in 1993, has recorded four CDs which contain over 48 compositions that blend progressive jazz instrumentation with explicit Biblical messages of unwavering faith in God. “Like Duke Ellington, she has the rare ability to meld spiritual and secular  branches of African- American music into her own powerful and personal statement”, wrote a reviewer for   the internet publication, The Black World Today (www.tbwt.com) upon commenting on Ms. Floyd’s third CD, Walk And Not Be Faint (Contour 0927).

The common theme throughout Ms.Floyd’s work is her  Christian faith, a sense of responsibility to honor the work of her elders, and   a commitment of building upon   the “jazz  tradition of innovation” as set forth by great vocalists and instrumentalists.

In this recent interview with writer David K.Pride, Ms. Floyd discusses the powerful message of the Biblical passage of 2 Timothy 1:6-8. She explains how this particular scripture passage influenced her new recording, Fan Into Flame (Contour 0928).  She discusses in detail how her Christian faith and the example of her  father’s work as a minister influences her creativity and outlook on life. —by Kimberley Berry

David K. Pride: You are a few weeks away from releasing your 4th CD on the record label you co-founded in 1994. How does that reality make you feel at this stage in your recording career?

Ruth Naomi Floyd: Blessed.

Why?

Because I feel blessed to be able to build a recording discography that speaks to the union of gospel based lyrics and the approach to music making I am most inspired by. I am grateful to God that I am able to express my faith as a Christian in a context of music that is one of America's greatest gifts to the world in the arts and humanities. In doing so, I have benefited greatly as an artist by being able to perform and record with some very gifted musicians who have breathed life into the music I offer.

I also continue to be blessed by a community of people that appreciate the music I offer and in various ways they offer me their support. I am so grateful for their support and I take very seriously the accountability of receiving their gifts of support. I am also thankful that I was afforded the opportunity to help co-found Contour Records because that option affords me the opportunity to participate in the day to day direction of our label and my artistic identity.

So, for me, the word "blessed" sums up my thoughts and feelings about my recording career.

"Ruth and Crew in the studio," photo by Cheung Ching-Ming

Why is your 4th CD titled , Fan Into Flame?

That is the title that was on the hearts and minds of me and my closest creative collaborators as we were engaging in a period of collective scripture reading and studying. The words of the title comes from 2 Timothy 1:6-8. The message of this scripture and the context in which it originated inspired us as we were contemplating the conceptual approach to my fourth recording project.

What was it specifically about this particular scripture that inspired you and your closest creative collaborators?

First, let me say that the entire book of 2 Timothy speaks to me in powerful ways.

Artistically, our creative team was drawn to the emotional character and beautiful nature of the language used by Paul to encourage his younger protégé, Timothy to remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul chose to do this, even though at that particular moment in Paul's life, he was in prison and knew that he would soon be executed. And despite that reality, what did Paul choose to do with his remaining time on earth? -- He did not lament or "cry the blues" as we say, he chose to use his remaining time on earth to inspire and encourage another Christian to remain faithful to God! In doing so, he chose to use these powerful words which are found in 2 Timothy 1:6-8:

"I remind you to fan into flame the Gift of God which is in you... For God did not give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord...

Then, of course, at Chapter 4, verses 6 to 8, Paul offers these powerful words:

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness..."

Whew! What a powerful and beautiful testimony of the spirit one can have when they remain faithful to God. And whenever I internalize the least portion of those words, I am moved and inspired beyond words because Paul's testimony of "keeping the faith" greatly encourages and challenges me in all areas of my life.

So, before my creative team and I began to compose and gather material for this 4th CD, we prayed that God would use the music we were going to record as a way for us to exhibit how our collective reading and study of 2 Timothy continues to inspires us.
In essence, the challenge for us musically and lyrically was to "fan into flame" the inspiration and guidance we were receiving at that period of time in our lives from the word of God as found in the Bible at 2 Timothy.

That is where the title, Fan Into Flame comes from. For me the use of that phrase represents what I perceive as both my artistic challenge and responsibility to God as an artist who is a Christian.

When you released your debut recording in 1994, a writer in Billboard magazine immediately characterized your music as "gospel- jazz". What are your thoughts about that characterization?

Terms mean different things to different people. So, I can only answer that question comfortably by telling you what I think of when I hear and use those words.

First, in my mind, when I think of the word "gospel" in relation to the music I offer, I am referring to the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ's death, burial, resurrection and ascension.

Second, when I think of the word "jazz" as a form of music expression, I am I thinking about the way the music sounds in relation to the rhythms, the chord structure , the harmony and the improvisation.

My music is an integration of both of the aforesaid elements.

Does scripture always inform your conceptual approach to writing and preparing for your recordings?

Yes. Scripture informs, guides and inspires my lyric writing and compositions.

Can you elaborate further on how scripture has influenced your discography to date?

All four of my cds express certain concepts and themes. For example, with the themes of my first cd , Paradigms For Desolate Times, I sought to address and musically communicate my belief in the importance and necessity of embracing the fruits of the Holy Spirit, especially during the times in this world when our lives seem desolate. In my mind, I found the inspirational basis for my debut cd from Galatians 5:22-25.This scripture teaches me among many other things, that we can show the fruits of the Holy Spirit by our behavior.

The concept for my second cd, With New Eyes is based on the scripture found at Romans 12:1-2.With this cd, my creative team and I were expressing how our faith in God inspires us and commands us to have the courage not to conform to the pattern of the things in the world that are rooted in the absence of God. Rather, this scripture essentially states that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through God's power in order for us to be able to see those things which are good and of the perfect will of God.

--Musically, With New Eyes sought to offer the listener a diverse range of sounds and varied compositional approaches as the best artistic example we could offer to illustrate our quest to see things "with new eyes". For this reason, we purposely sought to make my second recording a much more adventurous project than my first recording.

In August 1995, we recorded 14 tracks with live vocals utilizing 17 different musicians over two days. To this day, With New Eyes is very special to me, because although my producers and I were clearly reaching creatively and logistically at an early stage in my recording experience, we were blessed with some very special results on that recording. The circumstances of making that recording helped me discover "a creative edge" which I continue to call upon as I try to further nurture and develop my individual vocal sound and approaches to integrating my voice with the instrumental ensemble.

My third cd, Walk And Not Be Faint, comes directly from the book of Isaiah at the 40th chapter, verses 28 through 31. For me, one of the things that this passage reminds us is that God is the beginning and the end and He is always here. One of the things that motivated Keith R. McKinley's lyrical contribution to the title composition, was his critical reading about globalization, and certain other world events that were causing some people anxiety about the future. We wanted to communicate that regardless of what the future holds, God remains and He will outlast all things. Collectively our lyrics expressed our assurance of knowing that when we grow tired and weary, if we continue to hope in the Lord He will renew our strength.

On Walk And Not Be Faint I revisited several themes that I addressed in some of the songs on Paradigms For Desolate Times, in which I sought to raise questions and concerns about the collective humanity of our society. For example, on Paradigms... I wrote the lyrics to a composition by bassist, Kevin Bruce Harris, titled, For The Still Sick and Suffering. The lyrics offer a message of love, hope and concern for people who are struggling with drug addiction.

On the surface, these kind of songs may not appear to be based on a particular passage of scripture. But, these kinds of lyrics are rooted in the love ethic of Jesus Christ. -- These kinds of songs are what I often identify as "the gospel impulse" in certain forms of music expression; an impulse that is clearly identifiable in many expressions of music that are derived from the African American experience. So for example, on Walk And Not Be Faint, I wrote a song called "Responsibility" in which I raised my questions and concerns over the persistence of how drug trafficking in America imposes violence, despair and imprisonment upon certain communities and successive generations of families in America.

However, some of my lyrics that I believe speak to social concerns come directly from scripture, such as the composition on Fan Into Flame titled, Micah 6: 8. In this song God tells us that there are three things he wants from us: God wants us to act with justice, to love and give mercy, and to walk humbly before Him. I believe that these are some of the most important and life sustaining virtues that any society can embrace.

In the past you have mentioned that your father's work also inspired your music. How so?

For over thirty years my father, Rev. Melvin Floyd has combated violence and drug use in the urban areas of Philadelphia . My father believes in the importance of ministry that takes place in the church. However he is also passionate about ministering to the people outside of the church, especially people who are suffering in the community. One of the most important lessons my parents taught me is the importance of serving people in the community who are looked down upon or forgotten. They taught me that principle with their actions, not their words. So, over the past eleven years I have been involved with helping people who are in the last stages of living with the AIDS virus. Also, for the past seven years I have been involved with a prison ministry that reaches out to those who are incarcerated. I say all of this not for personal acknowledgement, but to suggest to you that I am involved on a day to day basis with serving people who in various ways are confronted with suffering. This reality informs my lyric writing as well as the aesthetic of my compositions.


You mentioned musically discovering a creative edge upon recording your With New Eyes album in 1995. What is the creative edge you discovered?

At this point in my career, I am still more interested in studying and developing my craft artistically, rather than publicly discussing what I am dealing with theoretically and conceptually. But I will say this at this time: a lot of what I am being vague about has to do with how a vocalist trains themselves to hear, as well as the extent of the creative resources one allows themselves to draw from as a vocalist.

At the beginning of our discussion, you stated that you have "benefited greatly as an artist by being able to perform and record with some very gifted musicians..."

Well most of the artists I have had the pleasure and honor of performing and recording with are some of the very same artists that I was listening to for several years before I recorded my first cd in 1993. These are some of the most gifted musicians in the world and I greatly benefitted from their approach, experience, sound, and musical instincts. The greatest benefit that I received was that they created an atmosphere of sharing their gifts while also creatively challenging me to continue to use my voice as an instrument. When we are in live performances the benefit is extended because I am always watching, listening and learning from the musicians around me.

What was you experience like working with the musicians who appear on your Fan Into Flame album?

It was wonderful. First of all, the opportunity to once again share musically with our Music Director/Producer/Pianist, James Weidman is something that I do not take for granted. His vast knowledge of all types of music, his brilliant piano playing as well as his gifted arranging, lyric writing and composing clearly shines through on this cd.

Julian Joseph is one of the pianists whose music I listened to before I had the opportunity to work with him. His 1991 debut cd, The Language of Truth and his 1993 cd, Reality are recordings that are in heavy rotation in my cd player. He is one of the musicians that I always wanted to work with and he blessed us with his presence on four tracks. He also composed a hauntingly beautiful composition for me and this project titled, Faith. I am grateful for his generosity.


Gary Thomas is also one of the musicians whose music I listened to closely in the 1980s. His 1988 cd, Code Violations and 1989 cd, By Any Means Necessary are also in heavy rotation in my cd player. Regardless of whether Gary was playing tenor saxophone or flute, his sound, choice of notes, clarity and approach made all of us around him sound and play better. His instincts and understanding of what the different compositions required and needed was marvelous. I learn a lot from just listening to Gary.

It was great to have Reggie Washington back with us. One of my very favorite moments on the cd is Reggie's bass solo on James Weidman's tune, "Strange Land". The sound that he produces is wonderful. He is one of the musicians that has taken the time to sit and talk with me about the importance of knowing the different elements of jazz music as well as music in general. He has a way of describing the most complex things in an easy and simple manner.

I have been working with Bryan Carrott since 1993. It was great to have Bryan Carrott back with us. Besides creating the colors and dynamic moments with the vibes, he also contributed the composition," A Prayer for One". It is a heartfelt prayer . Bryan first brought this composition to my attention after we recorded my first cd. We decided to wait for the right time to record it. In light of the things that have been recently occurring in this world, I am glad that we waited until this new cd.

Mark Prince is a drummer whose playing seems way beyond his years. His ears, touch, and range of musical styles are remarkable. One of the interesting things about Mark is that he is vocally trained. His knowledge and understanding of the voice as an instrument adds a sensitive dimension to his playing . That is rare and it is probably one of the reasons why his performance on this cd is flawless.

The very first time I heard Matthew Parrish play the bass I knew I wanted him to record and play with us. At that time he was touring a lot, so I had to wait a little while until he was available. It was worth the wait. The acoustic bass is my favorite instrument to listen to when I am performing or recording. Most of the time I compose starting with the bass lines. When I compose it is Matthew's sound that I hear in my ears. Some good examples of how Matthew influences my composing can be found on the compositions, Responsibility and Train Underground from the Walk and Not Be Faint cd. I enjoy the way he embellishes the lines and fills in the gaps.

Bobby Zankel's way of playing has brought an unique sound to our band. He plays very angular and at times creates a good tension with his choice of notes in the chord structure. Bobby has been playing alto and soprano saxophones with us from the very beginning. That in itself speaks for itself. I am very grateful for his presence and his gift.

What are you up to artistically at this time?

I am artistically involved in several things right now. Do you want to hear about all of them?

Elaborate more, please.

Under the guidance of James Weidman, I continue to study theory and voice.

I have recently acquired more students and I continue to give individual voice and piano instruction. I have also expanded my vocal instruction to include the basics of jazz singing.

Along with teaching, I also present lectures and vocal clinics. The two lectures, "The History and Celebration of the African American Spiritual" and "Understanding and Identifying The Christian Message in African American Music" are closely aligned to what I am doing musically. The two vocal clinics that I offer are, "Preparation, Practice Regimen and Maintenance of the Voice" and "The Basics of Jazz Singing".

I am looking forward to sharing Fan Into Flame with people in concerts. I am excited when I am able to have the musicians from the cd in live concerts with me. It enables us to hear and share new interpretations of the music as well as see the music evolve.

We are in the early stages of gathering and arranging music for a cd of African American Spirituals and hymns. The arranging of this music is very important because it will enable us to present this music in a different context.

The most important thing that I am doing right now is composing. I am doing a lot more composing than in the past. This is a direct result of committing more time to consistently studying music as well as being surrounded by so many musicians and artists that challenge and encourage me.


I noticed that you have photographed the cover of three of your four cds. How did this come about?

Well I have been creating and exhibiting my images as a professional photographer for almost eighteen years. It seemed very natural for me to photograph the jackets for the first, third and fourth cds. I mentioned before that my second cd, was a very adventurous recording for us. So, I decided for With New Eyes, it would be good to get a different view of myself through someone else's vision. The photographer, Cheung Ching-Ming created the images for that cd. She did a great job! She also created the recording session images for Walk and Not Be Faint as well as Fan Into Flame.

The image on Fan Into Flame has a different artistic effect than the previous cd covers. It is different in that it is not a image of myself, but an image that I took of a friend. It also differs because instead of a posed portrait, it is a mysterious image filled with motion and emotions. And although the image is filled with movement, it still speaks of the quietness and loneliness that can often come when acting upon 2 Timothy 1:6:8.


I am glad that my photography has a part in presenting my music. There are some collaborative projects that we want to do in the future that would merge my photography and music closer. This would be an audio-visual project. This artistic combination would emphasize the communication of the lyrics' message and music with visualization. But the scope of that project is down the road.

Thank you for your time.

Disclosure Note:  Ruth Naomi Floyd is also the Editor of Photography for this publication.


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