Jonathan Kessler's Home Page

If net browsers supported accents, I could say "Velcome to my Humble Homepage" in my best Bela Lugosi Rumanian, but they don't, so I can't...

They say that "the shoemaker's children go barefoot..." Although I've been online since 1995, I've neglected to update this page for quite a while.
So now (March 2005) I'm getting around to doing it again. Guess I update my online data every 5 years, whether I need to or not...

I have been many things: a psychotherapist, musician, teacher, writer, itinerant beach bum, and software consultant. I am currently working in Engineering Education at Cisco Systems. This means that I train computer geeks to be better computer geeks. Which, I suppose, makes me the uber-geek...

I live in a beautiful redwood forest in Boulder Creek, CA, with my wife, Beth Moscov, and our family. I have a great many interests, some of which I will share with you here. Feel free to skip directly to:

Family

Beth and I live in a little jewel of a town in the redwood forest in the the coastal Santa Cruz mountains (between Santa Cruz and San Jose). Rural life is a very healing counterpoint to the pace of life in the city. Sam, our son (born 1996) lives with us. He is a delight. Sara, our daughter (born 1985) is successfully living on her own not too far away. We share our lives with our dogs, a cat, a ball python (Sam's), some chickens and dairy goats, and various wild creatures that live in the forest around us.

Music

I may be naive, but I strongly believe that by playing music from other cultures, and sharing our own musicality and experiences, we lessen the distance between ourselves and others. There is magic in music, and that magic is to bring people together. I am also getting back to some personal roots playing Klezmer music and Sephardic (Ladino) music. However, my primary musical love is playing traditional Turkish, Arab, Greek and Gypsy music when time allows. Definitely some of the most exciting music on the Planet!

I have been involved in music since my early childhood, and have been playing professionally since I was in high school. For the past six years almost all of my musical involvement has been in the music of the Middle East. I play a variety of Middle Eastern hand drums, including Doumbek, Def, and Riqq. I co-directed the percussion section of the UCSB Middle Eastern Ensemble, and have learned a great deal about the music from its director, Dr. Scott Marcus. My primary teacher was Souhael Kaspar, the master drummer from Lebanon. I have recently been featured in an instructional video for the doumbek, entitled " The Doumbek Video". For more about Middle Eastern music, see the homepage for my group Farabi, with information about the group, the music, and our albums.

Other recent involvements include a wonderful musical collaboration put together by producer Kavi Alexander of Waterlilly Acoustics. The record that came from this session, entitled At the Court of the Chera King, is a beautiful blending of musicians from around the world. It features vocals and instruments from the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, along with European Cello, jazz Violin, Amercian Dobro, a variety of African instruments, and Middle Eastern Percussion. There is a purity to keeping within the bounds of a given musical tradition, but there can also be some truly beautiful music made when people from diverse backgrounds get together with no preconceptions and the sincere desire to communicate.

I have, in the course of my chequered career, played a variety of instruments (including Bass Guitar) in a variety of bands, from Rock to Jazz, as well as Reggae and African music. I attended the Bass Institute in Hollywood, and would encourage anyone who feels the pull of the muse to take a year of their life and devote it to just studying and playing music.

Martial Arts

I believe that there is a warrior's path of peace, that through cultivating our strength we can teach ourselves to avoid conflict whenever possible, and to protect ourselves and those who need our protection when avoidance is not possible.
Beth, Sam and I currently train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Sam is an avid competitor. He also trains in Judo. I also train in Escrima, a Filipino Martial Art, under Guro Jon Ward. I was fortunate enough to have also studied FMA briefly under Guro Inosanto and Guro Ted Lucaylucay. Other martial studies along my path have been Jiu Jitsu, Shotokan Karate, and Chinese Kung Fu, as well as Fencing, Rennaissance Swordsmanship, and Archery.

Writings, Presentations and Publications

I have published a number of articles on a variety of topics over the several years. Most recently, my work schedule has preculded my doing much writing, but I have been presenting at various conferences on E-Learning and Technical Training.

Publications include:

Turkish and Armenian Rhythms for American Drummers, published in the June 1995 issue of "Percussive Notes" magazine.
While Western music seldom ventures beyond standard meters (4/4, 3/4, and sometimes 6/8), the music of the Middle East and the Balkans frequently uses time signatures that are "odd" to Westerners, such as 9/8, 10/8, 10/4, and more. This article introduces Western musicians with some of these wonderful rhythms.
Archers of the East, published in the October/November 1995 issue of "Traditional Bowhunter" magazine.
Describes the techniques, practices, and traditions of medieval Turkish and Persian archery. Includes information on construction of traditional composite bows.
Turbo-Charged Visualization, published in the March 1995 issue of "Muscle Media 2000" magazine.
Bodybuilders and other athletes are always interested in attaining top performance. This article details advanced techniques for using visualization to enhance athletic performance, particularly with regard to weightlifting and bodybuilding.
Sycnronous and Asynchronous Training for Engineers, published in the June 2001 issue of "Learning Decisions" magazine.
E-Learning and Blended Learning were still "terra incognita" for many educators. In my work at Cisco Systems my group and I pioneered the use of E-Learning for highly technical training, and in this article I share some of our learnings.

Spirituality

The Chinese classic Tao Te Ching begins "The Way that can be spoken of is not the True Way". I feel uncomfortable delving into the spiritual realm in a format that is primarily verbal, but a few points...I believe that human beings have a place in the repair of the world, and that we work with a greater power (some would call God) in this task. I also believe that seekers from around the world are all (or at least mostly) moving toward the same Goal - no one creed has a monopoly on Truth.
With that in mind, some traditions have spoken strongly to me, including Zen and Taoism, as well as other meditative practices. I have found, however, that for myself, my path is that of my ancestors, the Jewish path. The deeper I search in that tradition, the greater the wisdom I find. It is sad that so few contemporary Jews are aware of this depth, because Judaism in the modern world is seldom taught that way. Yet there are techniques and traditions every bit as compelling, as relevant, and as present in Judaism as there are in any of the more "esoteric" religions.
Meditation is a very powerful tool for spiritual growth and understanding, and there is an old, if little known, tradition of meditation in Judaism. I recommend Aryeh Kaplan's Jewish Meditation as a starting point for those who are interested.

Poetry

It would be misleading to say that I am a poet, although I do write poetry now and again. It would also be misleading to say that I am a connosieur of poetry, but I will confess to be deeply moved by the tradition of Sufi poetry, particularly the work of Jellaludin Rumi.

Why Kesslari?

Kavi Alexander, the producer and record mogul at Waterlilly Acoustics, came up with this nickname during the recording of the aforementioned At the Court of the Chera King. He created an entire fictitious history of the Kesslari, a tribe of nomadic musicians and archers who roamed the Caucus mountains and smuggled along the Silk Route. The joke took on a life of its own, soon becoming the name for our family kennels (also fictitious), and there you have it...

Feel free to contact me at: kesslari@yahoo.com
Changes last made on: March 7, 2005