From Sea to Shining Sea is a real-time composition created by the free-improvising trio, "Purple Gums." Members of the trio are Bobby Bradford, William Roper and Francis Wong. The composition was created and recorded during a performance on the Just Jazz series, produced by LeRoy Downs - the JazzCat, at the Mr. Musichead Gallery, in Hollywood, CA, on July 17, 2019. This performance was almost a year before the death of George Floyd. It took place five years after the death of Eric Garner. Both died of compression of the neck. Eric Garner's death happened on July 17th. We didn't realize that at the concert. That says something about the alignment of the stars and whatnot. The work is an artistic response to ongoing systemic racism and police brutality against people of color in the United States. Photo credit: Chuck Koton.

William Roper, a multi-disciplinary artist resides in Los Angeles. He performs on tuba and primitive aerophones. In the early 1980's through collaborations with artists in other disciplines, he evolved into a primary creator of works merging music, stage performance, extemporaneous spoken word and the visual arts. He locates his work in African American oral traditions. His works explore histories of place, ethnic and cultural groups, and self-history. They map his movement through these landscapes. In a sense, he is a cartographer. Primary to his practice is an embracing and exploration of the attractions that occur when disparate disciplines abut, exploiting those spaces for improvisation within a given structure. He has received commissions from music and dance ensembles; has been a resident artist at institutions domestically, in Germany and Japan. He has received awards from the NEA, California Arts Council, L.A. Dept. of Cultural Affairs and others.