Born: March 18, 1961 Primary Instrument: Piano
My new CD, Simple Complex, features Roy Hargrove, Gary Burton, Eric Alexander, Mark Walker, Avishai Cohen, Diego Urcola, Niels-Henning rsted Pedersen, Matt Clohesy, Paul McCandless and many others performing 10 of my original pieces; mostly in a jazz sextet format. A self-taught pianist/arranger, I recorded almost all of Simple Complex at Deaf Dog Studio in Chicago with producer John Ovnik. My sextet performed for a full house at Carnegie Hall in November 2003 with guests Joe Farnsworth and Yosvany Terry, and my quintet headlined at the Melbourne International Jazz Fest earlier in the year. BET showcased us on a NYC gig on January 24, 2004.
I also enjoy playing 1920s stride piano at NYC's 92nd Street “Y” with Dick Hyman which I will do on Saturday April 10, 2004. I've recorded numerous solo piano CDs in Europe and the States, all of which are available through my website. For Warner Bros, In 2000, I transcribed “Portraits,” a collection of 23 piano solos improvised by Piano Jazz legend, Marian McPartland, and I've written extensively for TV since moving to Chicago in 1987. I've been invited back to perform at Carnegie Hall in November 2004. I've performed duet concerts with Stevie Wonder & Wynton Marsalis, and my original music quintet opened for Pat Metheney, Buddy Rich, Stanley Turrentine, Maynard Fergesun, and Freddie Hubbard before I turned 20.
