Roman Norfleet is a mystic, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and interdisciplinary cultural producer whose work lives at the intersection of sound, ritual, and liberation. Rooted in Black improvisational traditions and guided by ancestral presence, Roman’s creative practice is a devotion to sound as sacred technology—a vehicle for healing, transformation, and collective memory.
Born in Lockport, Illinois, and based in Portland, Oregon, Roman’s early experiences in the Black church shaped his deep attunement to the spiritual dimensions of sound. His journey later led him to Los Angeles, where he studied Vedic and universal spiritual philosophies with students of Swamini Turiyasangitananda (Alice Coltrane) and other spiritual mentors. These teachings continue to resonate through his music, grounding it in reverence, discipline, and ancestral continuity.
Roman’s sonic language weaves free jazz, spiritual blues, ambient frequencies, and field recordings into immersive soundscapes that call listeners inward. His performances are ritual offerings—spaces of communion, reflection, and presence.
He is the founder and creative director of Be Present Art Group (BPAG), a collective dedicated to the cultivation of community-based performance, visual expression, and spiritual practice. Roman is also a core member of The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, a metaphysical sound research collective exploring the cosmic and emotional possibilities of collective improvisation. Together, they carry forward the legacy of cosmic Black music with humility and innovation.
Roman continues to collaborate with artists, healers, and organizers across disciplines—working to create a world where art is inseparable from life, and sound is a portal to something greater.
Born in Lockport, Illinois, and based in Portland, Oregon, Roman’s early experiences in the Black church shaped his deep attunement to the spiritual dimensions of sound. His journey later led him to Los Angeles, where he studied Vedic and universal spiritual philosophies with students of Swamini Turiyasangitananda (Alice Coltrane) and other spiritual mentors. These teachings continue to resonate through his music, grounding it in reverence, discipline, and ancestral continuity.
Roman’s sonic language weaves free jazz, spiritual blues, ambient frequencies, and field recordings into immersive soundscapes that call listeners inward. His performances are ritual offerings—spaces of communion, reflection, and presence.
He is the founder and creative director of Be Present Art Group (BPAG), a collective dedicated to the cultivation of community-based performance, visual expression, and spiritual practice. Roman is also a core member of The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, a metaphysical sound research collective exploring the cosmic and emotional possibilities of collective improvisation. Together, they carry forward the legacy of cosmic Black music with humility and innovation.
Roman continues to collaborate with artists, healers, and organizers across disciplines—working to create a world where art is inseparable from life, and sound is a portal to something greater.