About this episode
“How do we hold both urgency and intimacy in our creative practices? How can an artist become a vessel of divine presence — not only in churches, but on club stages, in studios, and in everyday life?” In today’s episode, I’m joined by jazz and gospel pianist Julian Davis Reid — a Chicago-based artist-theologian whose work sits at the crossroads of sound, spirit, and scholarship. Julian is a founding member of the jazz-electronic fusion group The JuJu Exchange and the creator of Notes of Rest , a ministry that invites the weary into the rest of God practiced in the Bible and Black music. In our conversation, Julian and I talk about finding flow as a spiritual discipline, the tension between performance and presence, and what it means to make art that is both urgent and intimate. Support the Makers and Mystics podcast! Follow us on Instagram Send us a text Support the show Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.