Jim Dorman


Location: Beaverton, OR

Challenge: Blind

Website: www.jimdorman.com

Jim Dorman is a musician, composer, and teacher who used to be a juggler. But now instead of juggling balls or clubs, he juggles notes.

In addition to playing solo gigs on various instruments, Jim also plays bass with his jazz combo The Purple Herons.

Jim teaches private and group music lessons, including being a mentor in the Bandmakers program, which is a class where students learn what it's like to be in a band by actually being in a band for 10 weeks at a time.

His blindness is the result of 2 degenerative retinal disorders: macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. These have been reducing his sight since he was 19, but they haven't affected his music because Jim didn't start playing until his early 30s. Before that, he was a theatrical lighting designer and a performing juggler. Since both of those career paths require sight, it was time to make a change. After spending 25 years believing that he didn't have the skills to become a musician, he decided to make one more attempt and has been playing and performing ever since.

Drawing upon influences from a diverse and varied group that ranges from George Carlin to Ray Charles to Vince Guaraldi, Jim’s music carries positive energy; he reminds listeners that even serious things can be done with joy.

Jim also looks to artists like Kitaro and R. Carlos Nakai, crafting music that embraces the grandeur of nature, with songs that encompass the entire cosmos to those focusing on a single leaf. Nature is a constant influence in Mr. Dorman’s work. A song entitled "1-2-3" is all about a summer afternoon in a burgeoning flower garden, while "Cellular Telephone" is an ode to the resilience, diversity, and tenacity of life in the entire universe.

In songs such as "Ocean Amblin'" and "Orenco Express," Jim Dorman explores the thrill of adventure and the fun of sharing journeys with others. "Black Irish" and "The Sugar Cube Waltz" explore the mystical depths of dreams and the dimensions of life that exist just beyond waking perceptions.

Jim is also a mentor for Bandmakers, a workshop where musicians and singers learn what it’s like to be in a band by actually being in a band, or for more experienced musicians to explore new directions and elements of their music.

Discovering the extraordinary in the everyday is what Jim Dorman’s music and message are all about.

From expansive cosmic visions to going on safari in your own yard, the ideas in his music speak of balance, showing that every moment is sacred, but also reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously.


Jim Dorman - Angel From Montgomery