Jerome Gordon
“I feel like a different, not a different person … I’m in a different place in my life. … I was still finding my way at 29, still in LA. LA is, as you know, a very tough and unforgiving place.”
Age 30
That’s Jerome, who was a viola player gaining momentum professionally in his late 20s, when he designed work for himself that included both performance gigs and stints in business, work that took him from education in Chicago and Miami to opportunities in LA, Las Vegas, and eventually abroad.
He explained, “Freelancing is definitely an unsure profession, but after a while you look at the average. … I never missed the rent payment, I never missed bill payments. If the phone isn’t ringing nonstop every day, that's ok. Some months are gonna be harder than others, but you'll live.”
Age 31
Looking at his earlier portraits reminded him of a shift in openness and self-assurance that he’s undergone.
“I think this Jerome, or these Jeromes probably always [were] optimistic and [had] the right amount of naivety and hard work … but I think I had sort of a very narrow and focused view and perspective. Maybe as you should, because you gotta hustle in this new city and this competitive environment. So I was more focused on me. And then as you get older and more self assured … you can open up your aperture a little bit.” He added, “It’s healthy too to have a friend base or emotional base outside of work. And so it was good for me to have the freedom to do that. Some of them became lifelong friends too.”
Age 32
Throughout Jerome’s professional growth—that’s included soundtrack work for The Lion King (2019), Frozen I & II, The Help, and Green Book, among others, and performances for President Obama, Pope Francis, Usher, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic—some of his most meaningful work has happened with Celine Dion. He’s been in her band, in multiple configurations, for a decade. He’s still moved by the way she appreciates her team, not treating others as background noise, but instead building an environment that’s sincere.
“This past year, 2019, we started her world tour. That was in September, we started with North America, there were a lot of Canadian dates, and then the United States, and then we ended [due to COVID] right before we were going to have a D.C. show. … They kind of roll out dates as we go. So, as things open, they definitely want to get back on the road. So we're waiting with bated breath.”
“I don't really believe that people change. I just think they become more of who they are. … I do think that I am becoming more of myself. I’ve always been gay and I've always been black. So these aren't new things. Now I am more comfortable in my skin, and I can speak to them and I can integrate them into other parts of my life and become the whole person because we’re made up of so many different things. I am not just a musician and not just a man. I am not just a black guy. I am not just Jamaican. I am not just American.”
On how he’s changed internally, Jerome discussed the authentic confidence that’s grown in him, a transformative trait highlighted by many project participants. “I’ve realized what's important and [I can] say no to stuff. … I think I just feel more comfortable in my skin, and that's probably one of the biggest developments over time. … Comfortable in that sense too … [where] I don't need everybody to like me. … Before, I felt like I had to make everybody happy and I wanted to make everybody comfortable. And now, if something bothers me, I'm going to say it. I'm not going to use it as an excuse to be obnoxious. But I'm also not going to bite my tongue if I feel like … somebody says something that's not right.”
Dovetailing with the new civil rights activism in America, Jerome added, “Friends started to call me and they wanted to have conversations about race and [they said things like] ’oh, my gosh, is there anything I've ever said to you, or can you help me understand this?’ For a while, I was like, well, here we go. But they just want to talk, and that's what we want people to do … educate themselves and listen and read. So if I can take an hour of my time and give them my perspective, which isn't, you know, earth-shattering—it’s just from my experiences—then I'll do it.”
Age 39
During the course of this project, Jerome told his parents he is gay. “Coming out to my mom was really hard, and it helped that I was dating somebody because I felt like I had somebody who would have my back no matter what. … Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst … the worst would be that … she would disown me and then I would have no family and it would be the worst thing ever. That didn't happen. But it was definitely hard for a while. My family is very religious and conservative-minded in that way.”
Smiling, he continued, “Now she loves Kevin (Jerome’s husband) … and she calls him all the time and sends packages addressed to him that I can't open. So we've come a long, long way. But just seeing [myself in the portrait at 29] … I’m proud of that person, because I know how hard it was, and how terrified I was. And, you know, he did it. So good for him.”
