Meet P. Manzell Bledsoe

Today we’d like to introduce you to P. Manzell Bledsoe.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started playing music around 12 or 13 years old. My grandmother was pretty into jazz and my mom and all her siblings definitely inherited that love. I grew up to a soundtrack of everything from Anita Baker to Gene Ammons. My mom sang in church, my uncle played a little sax, and my aunt is literally a walking encyclopedia of music knowledge! When it was time to pick an instrument to learn in school I wanted to play drums but too many kids had chosen it before me, so I chose sax, or rather, it chose me. I came to Florida about five years ago. I didn’t know a single person here; musician, friend or otherwise. I ended up living in the Riverview area by pretty much throwing a dart at a map of Tampa Bay! I remember my very first night in Tampa grabbing my saxophone and using the ‘Meet Up’ app to try to find a happening jazz club. Somehow, I ended up at a coffee shop open mic on poetry night LOL! Undeterred, I kept exploring. I remember many night when I would go to three different jams sessions or open mics in the same night just trying to meet musicians. Eventually, I got plugged in the local music scene and got connected with many wonderful and talented musicians!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For me, it truly has been. Have there been struggles? ABSOLUTELY! However, I believe that if I am: 1) Doing what I love, 2) Operating with pure intent, and 3) moving closer each day toward WHO and WHAT I want to become, WHAT IS THERE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT!!?? In life, each of us is going to experience his fair share of rainbows and storms. When one experiences a rainbow, be sure to enjoy it. Be grateful and take it all in, but know that a storm will eventually come. To think otherwise is almost arrogant. Don’t pull away from it; lean into it because there is grown there. And when that storm arrives, learn what there is to learn and never lose gratitude because you know there is another rainbow coming soon.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Fun Fact: One of my goals is to help 1,000 musicians become financially literate and diversify their income streams outside of only music. I used to think of myself strictly as a Saxophonist, Composer and Arranger but the pandemic made me rethink many aspects of my life, business and music. As a musician who couldn’t operate in my craft (at least not in the traditional sense), for almost a year, I was forced to stretch. I had to accept the reality that I had allowed myself to become dependent on my phone ringing to determine if I could make my living. I decided that I would never allow myself to be in that position again. I think many musicians fall into the trap of believing a musician is the SUM of who they are, when in reality, our music is only A PART of a much deeper being. I became obsessed with diversifying my income streams in music and abroad. One of my biggest lifesavers was learning to invest and trade. Mastering the Cryptocurrency markets and other financial markets became an obsession of mine. I was blessed to have some great mentorship and I excelled. I vowed to help educate others. I became particularly passionate about educating musicians about financial literacy and helping them generate streams of income beyond music. I also maintain a very busy gig schedule as a freelance musician and maintain a private lesson studio of about 25+ weekly saxophone, flute and clarinet students. I’m also in the process of recording some new music and writing a bunch. Like I mentioned, not much to complain about!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
In the past 16 months, I have tapped into more information than I ever have at any one time in my life! I was constantly digging into podcasts, audiobooks, Youtube channels and more! It’s staggering how much great info is really at our fingertips! Here are some of the things that impacted me most:

*Books: “The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs” by Hal Elrod, “The Music Lesson” by Victor Wooten, “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kyosaki, “Trading in the Zone” Mark Douglas.

*My ‘long distance’ mentors: Dr. Myles Munroe, Jim Rohn, Les Brown, Earl Nightingale, Bob Proctor.

*Apps: The 5 Minute Journal, Spotify, Meta Trader 4, Motivation app,

*YouTube: ‘The strangest secret” by earl Nightingale, Valuetainment, Chad LB, Evan Carmichael, Bob Reynolds Vlog.

Contact Info:

• Email: manzellbledsoemusic@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manzellb/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p.manzell.bledsoe

Image Credits
Sam Toresso