Dawan Muhammad

Dawan Muhammad qualifies as a unique kind of renaissance man. For Hereafter he plays woodwinds and flutes, is composer, arranger, conceptualizer, and label manager. But the reality is so much broader than that. He is a community activist and non-profit entrepreneur, as much concerned for the mental and cultural health of Bay Area communities, and propagation of this unique art form we call jazz, as he is about his own musical development. He gives back to the community in a variety of different, well-chronicled ways; he gives back to the music in this instance with Hereafter. Dawan¹s primary vehicle, LifeForcejazz, is not only the imprimatur of this recording, it is also a means of bringing arts and culture to various Bay Area communities, through a variety of after-school and weekend programs for youngsters and young adults. LifeForcejazz, which can be accessed on the web at www.lifeforcejazz.com (http://www.lifeforcejazz.com), also provides vehicles to assist independent jazz recording artists to better maximize their product and opportunities. Just who is the dynamic force behind LifeForcejazz?

Born in Dallas Texas, Dawan Muhammad seemed to naturally respond to jazz, even as a toddler. He later became intrigued by homegrown jazz artists like Buster Smith, Red Garland, Ornette Coleman, King Curtis, Kenny Dorham, David "Fathead" Newman, Cedar Walton, and James Clay, just to name a few. When Muhammad¹s family migrated to the San Francisco Bay Area, he took up the saxophone in middle school. By the time he entered military service his alto sax was just a memory, but his love for jazz and experience in the service drove him to resume his musical quest. He enrolled in correspondence courses from Berklee School of Music and was eventually stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey where he came in contact with New York-based artists and mentors such as Frank Wess,George Coleman, Barry Harris, James Spaulding, Don Patterson, Joe Chambers and a host of others.

Following his service stint he earned degrees in Political Science and Islamic Studies from UC Santa Cruz. While matriculating, he co-founded Evidence Artistic Records with classmate Randy Masters and became immersed in developing ideas, vehicles, and means to assist in advancing the careers of his fellow artists. In 1994, Dawan and jazz legend Billy Higgins launched LifeForcejazz Records to pursue new projects and examine the impressive body of recordings in the can, some of which they never intended to release. However, due to the compelling nature of the music and a desire to build a label and distribution vehicles, more releases became inevitable.

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