An Episodic TV / Web Series Currently in Development by Molto Productions LLC.

    TributariesTM follows the flow of the the largest mass migration in world history and explores the relatively rapid blending of completely diverse cultures and the resulting music. The "Tributaries Project" is an episodic television or web docu-series with a mission to enlighten, educate, and entertain viewers while musical legends of our age navigate the influential tributaries of their own careers.  Each episode of Tributaries will chronicle one modern recording artist's unique quest to map the sources of their own musical life. Each featured artist will spend time face to face with some of their most inspirational musical influences, trading experiences and licks. 

    Imagine John Mayer sitting down in Mississippi to pick the brain (and guitar) of Buddy Guy. Or Latin Pop legend Marc Anthony journeying to Cuba to spend time soaking up the Afro-Cuban ensembles that influenced his career. Foy Vance takes a week in Ireland to trace his musical DNA to the hillsides, and pubs of the Emerald Isle, while Carlos Santana treks through west Africa to delve into the ancient rhythms and spirituals that flowed over his storied career. No true account of the history of popular music would be complete without a focus on the nexus of musical styles creolized in the cauldron of New Orleans. Picture Harry Connick Jr. taking us on a guided walking tour of the Big Easy, while stopping in to “hang out” and create music (and magic) with little known local legends who were part of the birth of Jazz or Rythym & Blues. In all episodes, artists collaborate with and perform their authentic folk music with their respective “tributary" influences. Inevitably, new recordings will emerge, giving the world even more beautiful music to enjoy. Along the way, viewers will dig deeper into musical and cultural history through music, imagery, side interviews and narrations.


    Music is the salve of the human soul, the great emotive voice which transcends the material world, invoking love, pain, sorrow, triumph and tragedy. It inspires songs of joy and worship, even calls to battle. The entirety of the human existence is codified in the ancient musical gene-pool created in the mixture of melody and rhythm. Music is the intangible gene in our DNA which can never be mapped. For millennia, cultures of the world developed their unique musical DNA in relative isolation. Like springs of inspiration bubbling up to form rich pools of ancient wisdom and heritage from which hundreds of generations drank. Eventually these isolated pools began to overflow across the vast global landscape, forming tributaries to what would become the great rivers of inspiration carrying the ships  of European explorers, colonists, even slave ships from Africa. 


    This was the first great migration of knowledge and ideas. These great musical tributaries flowed from Scotland and Ireland across the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, gathering a momentum of melodies and stories, and settling in the Southern US. Another great tributary of rhythm and spirit flowed westward from Africa, washing over the islands of the West Indies, the Southern US, The Gulf of Mexico, and continuing deep into South America. These great tributaries converged to create the great confluence of styles which formed the basis of modern popular music. 



    The goal of the TributariesTM series is to impassion today’s young music lover to understand the true origin of their musical DNA. To awaken to the spirit that inspired the various stylistic tributaries which merged to create Afro-Cuban jazz, Blues, Country, Rock & Roll, Reggae, even Hip-Hop & Rap music. The tributaries are long and have wandered through the centuries over a vast landscape, but the resulting spiritual river is at its deepest in the West Indies, Caribbean, Southern United States, and Latin America. This educational mission is in its infancy, and while the specifics of the programming are currently only speculative, the Tributaries team is beginning to form.  We are currently enlisting a Board of Advisors to help formulate the specific details and leverage knowledge, ideas, networks, partnerships and funding.  

    Advisory Board Members -

    Christopher Currell - Musician , Producer - Michael Jackson "Bad " album & tour.
    Michael Goldberg - CEO -Zimmerman Advertising.
    Jerry Shelsta - Executive Director - Strike Out Stroke 
    Chris Boggs - Audio Recording Specialist / Engineer 
    Kristi Dunn Kucera - Founder - Adrestia Media - PR Specialist
    Neil Becker - President - Becker Design
    Robert Modesitt - CPA 


    A Episodic TV / Web Series Currently in Development by Molto Productions LLC.