David Mesirow (b. April 24, 1984) is an American composer and performer of pop, jazz, blues, and various other genres of music. His primary instrument is piano, and he is also a skilled vocalist in many styles. He has studied jazz theory, jazz piano, and composition, and he is a former student of William Lenihan, Ptah Williams, and Martin Kennedy at Washington University in St. Louis. Previously, he studied music theory with Crystle Collins Judd at the University of Pennsylvania. David received his Bachelor of Arts (AB) in Psychology from Washington University in 2006.

For many years, Mesirow has been writing music and performing at various venues and events. He collaborates with musicians including guitarist/vocalist Seth Gottlieb, bassist Eric Weiler, and drummer Noah Cahan. His recordings can be located on the internet on independent websites such as myspace, facebook, and reverbnation and also by googling his name. He commonly goes by his stage name, Doug Mezz, which he acquired in 2006, as well as the alias Cool Jazz[910]. In addition to being a musician, Mesirow is also a writer, poet, painter, and photographer. His myspace page is www.myspace.com/dougmezz, which contains many poems and writings on his blog. The website also contains photos he has taken as well as photos of his paintings.

Among Mesirow's writings are political writings, such as political writings showing strong support for Barack Obama in the 2008 American presidential election. Among these writings is a poem which Mesirow wrote about how he thinks Barack Obama would change this nation. The poem was posted on many facebook groups, including one supporting Obama called "One Million Strong for Barack Obama. It is titled "Barack Obama - Time For Change" and is as follows:

Barack Obama,
It's time for change.
Barack Obama,
He can change our ways.
Barack Obama,
Change we can believe in.
Barack Obama,
It's time we vote him in.
Barack Obama,
He's our Democratic candidate.
Barack Obama,
It's a new kind of mandate.
Barack Obama,
He can beat John McCain.
Barack Obama,
He can end this country's pain.
Barack Obama,
A new kind of leader.
Barack Obama,
He won't be a repeater
Of the things that have gone wrong
In the Washington of old.
Barack Obama,
Let's give him the gold.
Barack Obama
Our next President
Barack Obama
It's time that we sent
A new kind of man
into the U.S. White House.
Barack Obama,
He's got a great spouse.
Barack and Michelle
at the helm of the nation,
will lead this country
to its new destination,
where folks can be proud
of their country again.
Barack Obama,
He's a man of transformation.

The poem received scathing criticism from several people including one post from Paul Handl who wrote, "Honestly david [sic] what happened here? I am genuinely concerned about your well being. I mean this poem is so bad it took me a full 30 minutes to comprehend how shitty it really is and once I did comprehend it all I had to break my pinky finger to stop my brain from hurting. You didn't write this while you were in a coma did you? If thats the case then it is amazing that you were able to do it, but even under comatose poetry standards it is still pretty horrible."

Mesirow responded to the criticism by writing, "First of all - Thank you to those who praised my poem. Secondly, I must stick up for my poem and say that it really isn't all that bad. It has a good rhyme scheme and it addresses what's good about Barack Obama and his campaign. It touches on the issues central to the national campaign and why Obama's presidency is desirable. It's a simple poem and I admit it could be more nuanced, but it gets the message across."[911]

Mesirow is of Jewish descent and has for many years been supportive of the nation of Israel[912]. Though many of his writings are political and philosophical, others are whimsical and artistic. Mesirow takes his literary and poetic influences from sources as broad as William Shakespeare, J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, and T.S. Elliot. As far as musicians, his strongest influences are the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder.

External links

David Mesirow website