With Joey DeFrancesco’s new album, Project Freedom – his debut for the Mack Avenue Records – he adds several feathers to his cap including those of world travelling storyteller, quartet leader, freedom fighter, peace maker, spiritual healer and genre-busting composer and cover artist. Mostly though, it's DeFrancesco's existence as a spiritual being – walking in the footsteps of humanity’s inherent goodness – that is at the heart of Project Freedom. "There are notes and rhythms, sure, but it is how you live your life that is most crucial," he says. "It's how you play AND present yourself."