137: Full Time Job, Full Time Musician

Some musicians spend their entire lives chasing balance.Others somehow learn how to live inside the chaos and still create beautiful music.In this episode of The Jazz Flyte Podcast, I sit down with George Franklin of GTF for a conversation about music, discipline, creativity, and what it really takes to sustain a lifelong passion while managing a completely different full time career.George shares the story behind GTF, the meaning behind the name, and how he and his wife Tracy built a collaborative musical project that stretches across the country with musicians recording remotely from different cities.We talk about how technology changed the recording process, the challenges of creating energy while recording remotely, and why nothing quite replaces the feeling of musicians feeding off each other in the same room.George also opens up about growing up in Los Angeles, being inspired by legendary musicians like Gerald Albright and Gary Bias, and how hearing live saxophone performances in church changed the direction of his life forever.We discuss balancing music with a demanding 37-year career at Kaiser Permanente while still performing over 100 live shows a year. George talks honestly about the pressure of juggling multiple careers, commuting for hours, performing at night, and somehow still finding the energy to create music that connects with people.This episode is about more than jazz.It is about commitment.It is about learning how to create space for your passion even when life feels overloaded.And it is about understanding that sometimes the people who inspire us the most are the ones quietly doing the work behind the scenes while never giving up on what they love.Connect with GTF: https://www.gtfjazz.com/index.html