Nine o'clock in the morning in Los Angeles. Cameron Graves has not yet practiced the piano, but he has already completed his daily martial arts program. He especially appreciates the meditative aspect of Xingyiquan and reports that his mentor Stanley Clarke is also a big martial arts fan.
He has been friends with the ex-bassist of Return To Forever for many years: "When I was 17, I went to an audition with Stanley and took my friends from the West Coast Get Down [musician collective from Los Angeles; author's note] with me: Kamasi Washington, Ronald and Stephen Bruner [a.k.a. Thundercat; note], Miles Mosley. However, none of us made it, except Ronald, the drummer."
Ten years later, things did work out for Graves, albeit only as a keyboardist. "That did hurt me a bit!" laughs the pianist. "But I think Stanley did it on purpose because he saw a composer in me that he wanted to coach."