Jason Caplan is an entrepreneur, financial adviser and musician.

He created the Universal Language Room and started The Bridge Institute, 501c3 to support the idea. Jason is dedicated to teaching music as a universal language to promote dialogue, cooperation, and collaboration amongst all people. Jason also created Beit Abulafia to spread the teachings of Kabbalist – Rabbi Abraham Abulafia. This project led him to an intensive study of Carl Jung, which Jason pursues in Memphis. Jason is married to Michal Caplan and they have two daughters.

Jason was a featured guest on a recent episode of the Conversation with the Rabbi podcast, where he spoke to Rabbi Beyo, EVJCC CEO, about creating the Universal Language Room,  his spiritual journey through Torah and music, and the writings of Rabbi Abulafia. Listen to the conversation here. 

My name is Dalion Russell , or as some people call me, ”Thunderarms.”

I was born in Memphis to Gwendolyn Labattes Richmond my (mom) and David Dawson my (dad). I my two siblings, and mom lived on the south side of the Memphis area, in White Haven where we went to church at Bountiful Blessings, where the late great G.E. Patterson Pastored. At, age 3, I began my drum journey, by me joining the youth choir the little sunshine choir and band. But, my mom said I started playing in womb , and when I was first born, there I gain the knowledge, how to be in a structured group learning how to play with others.

I got in with the older group of children, because my mom was over the group “special privileges huh, ” she would always push me even when I didn’t want to in music and life. So, at age 5 me my mom and siblings, moved to West Memphis, Arkansas this where my mom was from, so we where raise in Arkansas for the majority of our lives. There, we join Pilgrim Rest M.B church where Pastor Ronnie Reel preside, my moms home church and now ours.

My mom put me right to work, playing at the church but, I didn’t understand the style of the music because it was more of a quartet style singing, but I got the hang of it. At, the age of 10 my mom, siblings and I, did our first recording with a known saxophone player in St. Louis ,MO that was my first taste of ever being in the spot light as a drummer.

By, the age of 12, I started playing for a group that my mom was in called (Kieth Whitfield and company Chorale) a community choir that was formed for the entire city and there, I learned a lot about timing, structured songs and how to be creative on the drums. Also we’re I made my first pay check. Boy did that fell good, the greatest feeling in the world , I also traveled a lot , so was exciting. By, the age of 15, the group was preparing for there first recording, and I was terrified, I had never played a 12-song recording before, so I called my mentor Jeremiah “Munchy “ Turner and he coached me thru the recording process and he also played on the recording and we made it thru thank God. But, the part about is that’s when I got the greatest opportunity to play in my first studio session for over dubs. I even had to over dub some of my mentors playing, I learned how song structure works, how to setup songs for beginnings and endings, the most exciting part I got my first job as a studio drummer, the studio producers asked me if I wanted to be there studio drummer and of course I said yes who wouldn’t.

So, this is when I began learning different time signatures, tuning, different styles of music I must have played on at least 30 songs with in a weeks time. And in my downtime, they taught me how to run the mixing board and the structure of how to record others , and that’s where I feel in love with recording and I knew that’s what I’ll be doing the rest of my life.

At, age 19 I got married to the love of my life Tammy Russell, right after high school and we’re still going strong 15 years later, and later we joined a non-denominational church, Dominion World Outreach Min. under the leadership of Dr. Sharon R. Nesbitt,where we now reside this where, I started playing for gospel artists, to name a few Brian Cortney Wilson, Sherri Jones Moffett, Vanessa Bell Armstrong. By, age 21 I get a call to play for a singer (Ben Kirk )and with him I recorded my for CCM style album and out of that I gain a relationship with CCM based church’s, I played for them for four years while playing at Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Cogic church’s. In, 2010 I recorded with saxophone local artist (Aisha DuBose) on her jazz gospel album, in 2018 I was ask to play on (Candice Luther) live recording. And I have produce songs; for artist (Clarence Smith) song title “He made alright” that’s playing nationwide, And I’ve produced for other local artist that are currently playing on the radio locally in Arkansas, Tennessee and surrounding areas. 

I later began to play with party bands and jazz bands.  Now I play for a band call Blind Mississippi Morris and the crew, where I play on bill street with four times a week, also Naqshon’s Leap, universal music.

Raishene Webb, 46, has been playing professionally since he was 12 years old. “I started out playing the drums in church when I was 6 years old, had my first TV appearance at age 10, and played my first club gig at 14. I love all types of music and have been blessed to play all genres of music and travel doing what I love.”

Gilbert Smith, co-founder and co-writer of Naqshon’s Leap, will perform in the Feb. 20 program. He was born in Tennessee and grew up in St. Croix, Virgin Islands.  He now lives in NYC and is working as an administrator at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.  A committment to community service has led him to work in public health.  Gilbert is a founding member of the Universal Language Room.  He has written dozens of poems and songs beginning in childhood and continuing through the present.  He is working with other to launch the Global Alliance for Indigenous People, Gender Justice, Peace, and Equality. 

Felicia Peat, WKNO Education & Outreach Manager, Kids Channel 24/7, portrays the local children’s character, Teacher-Teacher, and holds a BS degree in social work from LeMoyne-Owen College and a master’s degree in business administration. She develops and implements reading, math, and science programming for families with early learners for WKNO’s social media platforms & coordinates and leads Literacy Education and STEM focused workshops with Prek-5 educators and parent & child workshops with families in the Mid-South.

She co-authored “Inventing Mystery Machines: Collaborating to Improve Teacher STEM Preparation” (2015); Shape, Bake, and Grow! Taking to the Outdoors in Urban Settings Encourages Plant Knowledge and Healthy Lifestyles” (2020) in Science & Children, and co-authored a chapter published in the book, Bringing STEM to the Elementary Classroom and “Creating Access and Opportunity: Preparing African American Male Students for STEM Trajectories Pre-K – 12th” published in the Journal for Multicultural Education.  She has led and partnered at workshops all over the U.S. for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Science Teaching Association (NSTA),International Association of Laboratory Schools (IALS), The Association of Childhood Education Institute (ACEI), Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM), and the  Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). 

Cantor Ricky Kampf of Baron Hirsch Congregation has been associated with the Memphis synagogue since 1989.  In his first years, he served the congregation as the assistant Shalich Tzibur and executive director.  He received his cantorial degree from the Belz School of Jewish Music, and currently serves as the congregation’s cantor. 

Cantor Ricky’s melodious voice is a highlight of all the congregation’s Shabbat and holiday services.  His Kabbalat Shabbat service every Friday night fills the synagogue with excitement and energy, and his holiday work with both our Men’s and Boys’ Choirs make the High Holy Days very meaningful.  He also is a master bar mitzvah teacher, who has taught Torah reading and davening to countless boys throughout Memphis.