Over the last few years I have photographed some of Portland’s musicians and have built some solid friendships. One of those happen to be with Trumpetor Farnell Newton. I first saw Farnell performing at Jazz on the Mississippi back in 2009. I used to see his name on flyers on Facebook but never saw him in person.

Since then Farnell has joined both Jill Scott and Bootsy Collins’ band, performed on the Soul Train Awards, traveled to Europe with Jarrod Lawson, performed with Liv Warfield, booked many shows at Jimmy Maks while helping out local musicians and taking of a wife and 5 children.

Last year Farnell asked me to take some photos for an upcoming project “Ready to Roll”. He found a nice old school car and I took some photos of his family too. Some of the photos were used on the website for the horn company he is endorsed by.

One thing about creative people, we are always changing our mind. The first version of the cd cover was a visual passport but he ended up using the photos I took of him last year for the front cover and inside artwork. ☺️ which is cool because now my photos will be seen all over the world. And this is my first cd cover.

Last week, Farnell and I hung out for a half day to shoot footage for the second single “You Gotta Move”. I hung out with his family, went to Stumptown coffee, the waterfront and ended up at Solae’s Lounge on 18th & Alberta. It used to be Joe’s Place”. Lots of friends came out to show their support. Here is the final video for “You Gotta Move”.

And you can download Farnell’s cd  “Ready to Roll” on iTunes and other digital outlets.