Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Patterson.
Hi Jordan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born on June 10th, 1969 in Toronto, Canada and named for the U.S. Civil Rights activist Clarence Jordan (1912-1969). My adopted parents are both retired professors who taught at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. And their both of white ethnicity and lived the reality of the American civil rights movement firsthand before choosing to relocate to Canada in the early 1960’s.
My father, E Palmer Patterson II, was born in New Orleans, LA, and was respected for his work in documenting the migration and history of the First Nations People of Canada. And my momma, Nancy–Lou Patterson, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and became recognized as a prolific artist, author, educator, and scalar, who founder of the University of Waterloo’s Fine Arts department.
I’m born of mixed-raise with German and Jamaican heritage and the youngest of nine siblings. I grew up with six older sisters and two older brothers and the last of six adopted siblings who together with me became my nine siblings. Even though everything looked wonderful on the outside and I never once lived a moment in need of food or clothing, things in my home were complicated to say the least… but then again, I’ve known very few lives, if any, that started out easy.
Nevertheless, my Momma was not only an artist who loved me deeply but fully understood the role she’d play in my life. As a child, my momma started early and waisted no time with her need to inspire my thinking, she taught me how to see past or beyond the obstacles other people could put in my life. Always telling me that dreams were intended to inspire our thinking and meant as an indication of what’s possible in our future!
Her bedtime stories were all about adventures with mythical characters who faced adversity but were all somehow driven to succeed through a common goal or shared belief in great possibilities… all of which was found woven throughout the pages of classic literature and the storylines of those magical rabbits in books like Watership Down or the magnificent list of written works by authors C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
And like all young boys unsure of tomorrow who live in the need of knowing were protected and loved by our mothers. Well, I grew to quietly believe that my momma was different, she was a-little-bit-magical and somehow she knew the answer to everything, she could fix all problems big or small or mend the thought to be worst moment from a crushed defeat or broken heart. Yep, I lived my childhood convinced that my momma was the maker of dreams come true, she was fearless, this ever powerful influence and protector as I’m sure many other women and mothers have most certainly become in the lives of their children around the world.
And being the youngest of nine siblings would naturally become an early introduction to the world of music through this diverse collection of hand-me-down records. However, it was finding out that I share a birthday with Chicago blues legend Howling Wolf, which helped explain why I was destined to proclaim some Cotton Patch Gospel of my own.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When reviewing my life from the outside, it’s easy to understand why people feel I’ve had all the opportunities to do great things, but can’t help wondering why it is that I’m not doing what’s more in line with their expectations. However for me when I look back at some of what I’ve accomplished, I can’t believe that a child, who everyone thought was destined for great failure, has seen more of this world than most ever will.
But, sometimes, along with the feeling of victory comes the feeling of great pain and sorrow; a broken heart wishing its owner had been given the simple direction or the support that only comes with the responsibility of persistent parental guidance. Knowing when walking away from someone, we all would like to know that if we decide to turn to look back, we’d see someone standing there with a smile of approval and an appreciation for who we are.
But it’s still hard for me to admit that my heart carried the feelings of worry and disappointment for far too long. Because somehow in life, we’re expected to rise to the occasion in meeting challenges and the goals of others, as though we’re all playing from the same deck of cards. Yet, sometimes, I don’t feel as if we’re really meant to succeed in these situations. It’s akin to sending us into battle with a broken gun, knowing we’re not really being counted on or ever expected to do well – or survive.
I’ve frequently had people ask me if I considered myself “smart.” I have often thought of myself as having good ideas and regardless of what I’ve accomplished in my professional life. At times I can’t help but feel it’s taken way too long for me to figure everything out and for me to see past the scars of emotional and physical abuse I was forced to endure as a child, at such a young age, in the beginning and most formative stages of my early life. And even though I’m now able to clearly identify a diverse group of specialized spaces related to where and how my unusual skillsets positively impacted past projects and colleagues, it’s the early conditioning of shame and the feeling of limited self-worth that to this day can suddenly fill my heart with fear, and leave me in defeat and lacking in all areas of confidence.
I was trained in shame throughout my early years of growing up. Many of my earliest memories are those of disapproval and the looks of disappointment delivered by the very people who were meant to inspire my thinking. As a result, people would become so frustrated with me they couldn’t remember what if anything actually angered them. The required family secrets and repeated history of staying silent when knowing the truth would become the most reliable quality of my desperately needed protectors. It also meant they weren’t interested or able to see the confusion of the child, who stood before them – in defeat.
And despite any levels of success in the areas of my employment, past musical accomplishments or what it is, people now feel I’m capable of doing with great pride. There also came a point when I was no longer encouraged to try, a repeat act and most crushing humiliation to my ego and self-worth by those who believed I wouldn’t be able to accomplish the task, anyway.
I clearly remember the day I gave up; it was when I quit trying relating to any possible success or achieving an understanding for anything related to academics that could ever be seen as comparable excellence to others in my family or early life. I say with sadness how I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I was about to be handed a book to read in class by a volunteer assistant when the teacher took the book from the assistant and said, ‘Jordan won’t be able to read that. It’s better if you get someone else in the glass to read this page in the book.’ To this day, I can still see the look on that young assistant’s face and how embarrassed she felt for me, knowing I had been humiliated in front of the rest of the class. And I believe that was the defining moment in my life when I’d forever move forward with shame and avoid any noted responsibility because of fear and trepidation.
On the other hand, most are unaware that I was deaf or at least hearing impaired which went unnoticed through grade four and during that time, I studdard when speaking. However, after my hearing was corrected and with minimal testing, my teachers were unable to correctly determine my learning curve or my ability to process and understand critical information – assumed important to them.
So, their decision, supported by my parents, was that I no longer needed to attend classes of an academic structure. And by the age of twelve, I would no longer participate in any type of academic classes, for my family and school counselors found me a suitable future working afternoons in a local mattress factory. And from grade seven through to high school graduation, I created my own schedule and attended nothing other than what’s called shop classes. However that arrangement would only work to further reinforce my then-growing sense of inadequacy and strengthen my perceived belief of falling short in comparison to my siblings’ claimed achievements or my father’s expectations of academic excellence.
While at the current stage of my life, I’ve been the recipient of responsible care with extensive testing that certainly shows different areas of learning disabilities. However this same testing has also exposed an above-normal level of intelligence; areas in which I clearly excel, where most others struggle or fail. But irrespective of the positive impact of learning how my brain functions or what it means to now be invited to participate in focus groups, professional mentoring, business strategies or areas of academic studies once thought I would never achieve.
Honestly speaking the conditioning is deep and I still find myself at times afraid to trust others or present theories and thoughts related to many subjects in fear of rejection or ridicule. And it’s for those reasons I have often said winning a lottery can easily become a death sentence to the wrong person if he or she is left unprepared for what’s truly possible in life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Early on, when I was a kid in search of the next great song and/or musical artist, I figured out that a majority of the information and learning needed was quite often hidden in the liner notes of the albums I purchased. It was this revelation and moment of learning that introduced me to the enjoyment of reading for the first time in my life and completely changed how I would thereafter make decisions related to the albums of musical artists that I would now search to learn more about.
This unplanned education and changed method in making musical purchases also inadvertently opened me up to learning about world history. In taking the time to read why and who it was that these artists or musical acts considered their influences or foundation of their self-creation, I suddenly found myself immersed, with an unforeseen path or book of instruction to global race relations, world history, and the associated politics that most certainly helped to start the musical conversation now being had in each song.
This unexpected need-to-know suddenly took me around the world to new and different places in a way that classrooms were unable to do in my life. It not only gave me an appreciation for learning about the development of human culture but it did so in a language that I understood and it helped shape the beginning of what would become my perspective related to world issues and my concerns about varied types, levels, or areas of injustice. In retrospect, regardless of the geographical location of the story or where the artist was based or called home, it was the consistency and similarity of the stories being told which unknowingly directed my life path toward the importance of a person’s integrity and personal character which I believed to be as they claimed to carry themselves.
In many ways, it even helped me to better understand and find my place in the public argument, fusing appreciation and the personal belief that my Momma, Nancy-Lou Patterson, tried to display in her steadfast credence about the importance of equality within world cultures; addressing that forever-long list of issues of race relations, the independence of freethinking and the must-have liberal acceptance within the world’s various religions.
This unconventional path to buying albums not only gave me a greater understanding around the appreciation for music overall but the music I found myself listening to was no longer just straight-ahead blues…but a straight-to-the-vein euphoric addiction, disguised as a need-to-know, that would eventually morph into genres of Rock, Jazz, Soul, Country, various styles of Funk, Disco and even Gospel. And just like that, I’d created my love for learning…and this never-ending, never-slowing, need-to-know.
I’ve often wondered, when listening to music, if other musicians, artists or listeners ever experience the same instantaneous feeling of being at peace, that’s almost reminiscent of daydreaming; suddenly being able to see and feel the music as it runs throughout my entire body, which for me is always sure to be right in step with the introduction of some new and cool style of music I didn’t know of previously.
It’s as if I’m immediately filled by a workable feeling of emotion…that now suddenly becomes part of my inner soul while it flows comfortably throughout, in reaction to the intensity of listening at that moment. Or quite possibly, it’s just me…and I could be completely wrong in my portrayal or understanding of how this individual experience affects others. Is it only myself that experiences this transformational moment of learning, which leaves me with improved self-confidence and this renewed feeling of having superpowers?
Nevertheless, I’ve at times found it, to some degree, frustrating to know the number of cool musicians or artists who haven’t thought to look past that “moment of wow” when they’re listening to a particular artist/song/music. For whatever reason, they don’t see the significance of discovery in the actual musical journey which most likely took place in the creation of that melody or lyrical content which has now changed their lives forever.
I’ve always felt that learning the importance of musical influences is best understood as a secret weapon of sorts. For me, this new way of learning allowed me to hear the music differently and to see how any number of amazing albums, when introduced to the world, completely changed the direction or shaped the sound of so many great artists and/or the albums they would eventually deliver.
When I sometimes listen to the music, I’ve written or read the various storylines and personal life quotes that I openly share and are written about the various matters that hold interest or importance to me in my life, I say with great humility…that it’s in those moments that I’m quick to remember or remind myself just how nice it is to have created something that people respond to positively.
I’ve learned to never forget how their reaction has made me feel…and what I owe to myself as a creative artist to live deep within the reminder of that feeling and how I need to make sure that it finds its rightful place in my heart. It’s important for me to always remember that the very same space which now inspires my thinking was once filled with an ever-powerful and consuming fear of not knowing.
The brilliant world of Music and Visual Arts is so incredibly diverse in its culture, infused by an unsegregated variety of ways to communicate, such as dance, literature, music, photography, sculpting, painting and even film and infinitely powered by this mixture of human emotion. Most people don’t fully understand the amount of effort put forth to develop or design these various imaginative platforms that come to life, inspire thinking and if lucky, appeal to our human senses and provoke a positive reaction by those on the receiving end.
My Momma was a Fine Arts professor with an open mind and a vast interest in the human condition and world culture overall. Her need-to-know was powerful; the importance she put behind credibility was even greater and the depth of her wisdom was equal to the most brilliant sun. She loved the very things that made people and places special and lived with a keen interest and need-to-know about what inspired their thinking.
She told me of the experience of working alongside her mother, who by chance was also an established artist and instructor in her own career, and how this guidance and early life experience helped mature my Momma’s skills and further develop what would become her renowned ability to communicate the significance of her intended message as an artist and scholar. My Momma once told me that life was about knowing and not knowing…and how there were only three ways to communicate the importance of those essential elements in the description of the art.
First, she said, there’s the creator or artist, who expresses imaginative, conceptual ideas or technical skills that bring their idea and/or vision to life, which is then presented as a piece or body of their work. It is an extension of them; it is who they are and it’s deeply personal.
Secondly, there is the teacher, who inspires or explains through some level of auditory or visual instruction, about the history of the work itself and explains its style, while sharing its secrets and the significance or place it now holds within the genre or medium in which it compares or finds its acceptance within.
And she said lastly, there’s the reviewer, who speaks or writes of its importance to the listeners or readers, along with the consumer who then excitedly tells all their friends about its comparable excellence to anything that has come before or might possibly someday follow.
She explained how all three are equally significant to the creation, importance, promotion, or continued growth of the world arts community. I loved and lived for any opportunity to speak with my Momma or sit and listen to her explain the significance of something she felt I needed to know. Her explanation of significance was Godly in its design and her delivery never spared or withheld the very things which inspired her thinking.
“Life is about ‘Knowing and Not Knowing’ Jordan…and you need to know which one you are. Are you the Artist/Creator, the Teacher or the Reviewer/Consumer?” She said, “Most people are only one…but some of us, as in you and I…we’re all three.” – Nancy-Lou Patterson
As a child growing up raised in a mixed-race family meant I was constantly surrounded by adults discussing race relations within my community home and throughout the world. Our house was an experience in itself with artwork from floor to ceiling and if you didn’t know my momma, well her eclectic interior design strategy made no sense. And we celebrated different holidays such as the Cedar and Hanukkah and both American and Canadian Thanksgiving with our family and friends.
But for me when I reflect back on my personal journey, what it was that created my appreciation of people and love for the arts and world culture… the greatest gift to my own artistry was my momma’s continuous lesson in the acceptance of others and the importance she placed upon “knowing,” which has allowed me to clearly see the value of things and put my focus on what really matters in life.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I smile inside when I reflect on my life, knowing I’ve had front-row seats on the world’s most unexpected adventure! I found strength in moments of defeat then felt the compassion of love through others which taught me humility and the importance of having forgiveness in my heart.
My life has been a continuous search for salvation with a humbling list of moments I wish I’d done differently – but life is long and mine has finally found a purpose!
It’s hard to explain but I’ve finally found a safe place for the feeling of fear and loneliness in my childhood. I’ve learned that life’s a forever journey of learning while trying to live within the humility of forgiveness for ourselves and others – while having to navigate the world and do whatever it takes when everything feels impossible.
But nothing has left me more proud than when I’m on the receiving end of someone’s request for my help or mentoring in their life. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and the opportunity to change another person’s life is powerful. It’s also humbling.
Like it or not, we’re all inspired by something which leaves very little originality in the world, but let us not forget you can’t fear what you’re not in competition with either. That is why the greatest gift in my life has been the list of people who cared. And the greatest lesson I’ve ever learned was that life becomes real the moment we find out what’s possible!
Contact Info:
- Email: groovesuitemediagrp@gmail.com
- Website: www.jordanpattersonmusic.com
- Instagram: @jordanpattersonmusiclifearts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JordanPattersonMusicLifeLoveAndTheArts
- Twitter: @jpthebluesman
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC69ZUkEteyuGNHzPMJRn9cQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/g7ry7pzeZ3PAHJTr6
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Fhm84MgHLZsWKcFVROBDw?si=I5o7CHROT5aGidtOvLwXyg
