gospels for vlade

Vlade William Joyner, my brother, a son, an uncle, and adventurer, died on October 20th, 2013 at the age of 21. As his brother, I am inspired in his absence to carry on the bright light of Vlade's spirit.

It was difficult to think of a musical way to honor Vlade. He attended a church in St. Louis, Missouri for several years with a gospel choir, and he spoke fondly of the music. He was also an avid rapper, and he notoriously hated playing the saxophone.

Utterly hilarious and always filling the room with his razor sharp sense of humor and wit, I knew he would want his life to be celebrated, so I decided to do three gospel song arrangements in his memory. As payment for a lifetime of practical jokes and cutting comments, I added a prominent saxophone solo in the arrangement of Swing Low just for him.

That aside, Vlade is an inspiration to me to this day. He had hard life, but he always faced it bravely with a great sense of humor and passion for life. I hope there’s a heaven for him to be in. If there is, the heavenly host is roaring.