For Paul Livingstone, a sitarist and composer deeply rooted in the traditions of Indian classical music, jazz, and world music, such a fire wasn’t just a physical one. In 2023, when the Eaton Fire ravaged his Altadena neighborhood outside of Los Angeles, destroying over 9,000 homes and buildings, it became a crucible in which a deeper calling was forged. The loss of his home and studios didn’t extinguish his music; it purified it. What emerged was not only a renewed devotion to his craft, but a rekindled vision for what music and life can be in service of healing, justice, and beloved community.
Paul’s journey as a musician has long been interwoven with his path as a seeker. A student of Indian music since youth, he became one of the few American disciples of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar, and later of Shankar’s senior disciple Rajeev Taranath. Yet, Paul’s spiritual compass has also been deeply shaped by the teachings of Jesus, whom he follows not as a symbol of creed but as a living embodiment of radical love, nonviolence, and inclusive justice. This synthesis of sonic devotion, spiritual attunement, and sacred activism gave birth to the Soul Force Project, a healing arts initiative inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s articulation of Gandhi’s concept of “soul force”—nonviolent love in action.
Over the past decade, Paul has focused his creative energy in Altadena, a historically diverse and richly layered community in Los Angeles. Through concert gatherings like “Earth Day Altadena” and “Heal Altadena,” he and his wife Alma have convened artists, neighbors, and allies across race, faith, and musical traditions to reclaim spaces of collective grief, courage, and vision. Their latest endeavor, Thru the Fire, is both a music album and a documentary project born from the ashes—an ode to a place that continues to model intercultural solidarity in the face of loss and change. His essay, Everything Changes: An Ode to Altadena, captures this transformation with raw clarity and grace.
For Paul, fire is not just destruction, it is transformation. In that spirit, the flames have not silenced him—they’ve deepened his sound, and his service. Today, he continues to compose and collaborate with artists around the world while anchoring his heartwork in the community he loves.
Join us in conversation with this musical pilgrim and cultural bridge-builder, whose life sings of soul force, suffering transformed, and the quiet courage of beginning again.
