I was born in New
Brunswick, New Jersey. I moved to the Chicago area when I was
three and spent most of my adolescent years there. By the age of 15,
I was studying and speaking Spanish with a fervor. I went to the University
of Wisconsin, Madison and received a B.A. in Spanish.
I spent a year abroad in Seville, Spain.
My musical life
started with classical piano at age 5 with a wonderful teacher named
Annabelle Leviton. I did that for about 10 years and then began studying
jazz piano in high school. I studied with several teachers: Alan
Swain, Bob Dogan and Mike Kocour. I am indebted to all three
for inspiring me and showing me the ropes. I also spent numerous hours
transcribing all of my favorite players: Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea,
Herbie Hancock, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Monk....to
name a few.
During my University
years I gigged extensively with various groups, performing around Madison,
Milwaukee and the greater Wisconsin area. My favorite musicians from
Wisconsin are Jeff Eckles (from the original Whad'ya Know Show
band on Public Radio) and Dane Richeson, one of the BEST drummers
that I have ever worked with. I also got a chance to play under the
direction of famous jazz bassist, Richard Davis, in his infamous
BME (Black Music Ensemble) group (Richard performed extensively with
Sarah Vaughn, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Miles Davis, Eric
Dolphy, Elvin Jones, and many many more). During my Senior year at UW
Madison, I was awarded $500 for best jazz artist at the
school.
During my years
in Wisconsin, I also performed and composed for the Children's Theater
of Madison (CTM Productions), performed on Higher Ground,
a live public radio show, played with many different ensembles, large
and small, and lived a simple and peaceful life. But alas, the pond
began to feel a wee bit too small after some time.
In
1998, I was chosen (from a competitive audition) to tour India
and Sri Lanka with trumpeter and vocalist Matt Lewis as part
of the US State Department and Kennedy Center's
Jazz Ambassadors project. To see more about this trip,
visit my Jazz
Ambassadors page. We spent 31 days touring
the 2 countries, giving performances and master classes to diverse audiences.
I made the move
to the San Francisco bay area around 6 1/2 years ago. The bay area was
so incredibly appealing with its mountains, ocean, rolling hills, great
weather, progressive politics and relaxed atmosphere. I was drawn to
the area ever since I visited it (7 years prior). My first musical milestone
here was playing with Benny Rietveld, Santana's bassist.
We performed at a small jazz festival and did some other local gigs.
My next 'break' was meeting John Lee Hooker's daughter Zakiya
Hooker (http://www.ozaproductions.com/zakiya1.htm).
Through this connection, I got to play on John's last recorded album
and I 'hooked' up with Zakiya's band, Blues 4 U and played
gigs with them from August 2003 to April 2004. It culminated in March,
2004 when we visited Buenos Aires, Argentina to perform for very
appreciative 500+ audiences at a great music club called Trastienda
in the old city. You can listen to samples of the John Lee
Hooker album Face to Face by clicking on the cd universe
link and following the links to the music clips (I am on 2 tracks -
Loving People and Six Page Letter): 
http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?style=MUSIC&pid=6308094&cart=162512480
In July
of 2004, I met my former Plum Crazy bandmates
Josh, Skip, Shawna and Justin by posting an ad on Craigslist. I performed
with Plum Crazy
(a funk//rock/jazz/pop band) for 3 years, playing rock clubs, bars,
and an occasional music festival all over California. Currently, I am
playing regularly with bassists Marcus Shelby and
Fred Randolph, rehearsing and performing with my jazz
quartet (featuring Fred Randolph on bass,
Erik Jekabson on trumpet and Alan
Hall on drums), playing regularly with the
Contemporary Jazz Orchestra at Pearl's Jazz
Club on Monday nights, freelancing with many
great musicians, and composing/arranging music at my home studio.
I like to perform
and collaborate with dancers and have done so on numerous occasions.
Every year for the past 5 years I have been the resident musician at
the Moab Contact Improvisation dance festival in Moab, Utah. I also
perform regularly at the West Coast C.I. dance festival and for the
Harbin dance jam benefit. I have alsocollaborated with professional
dancer Samantha Beers on dance performances and retreats in the bay
area.
In
2005 I collaborated with
the Ragged Wing Theater Ensemble in their performance
of 'The Serpent' by Jean Claude Van Damme. I arranged and composed
music for the ensemble. The performance was a great success, getting
rave reviews:
