Bassist

I have been playing basses since I was a kid. The first song I ever learned in a band was Free bird – yes that free bird. I also played upright bass in the jr. high school orchestra at that time too. As a 7th grader, I remember playing an age appropriate arrangement of Gonna Fly Now from the original Rocky movie by Bill Conti. I find it funny that years later when I took time off from serious bass playing to work at Electronic Arts as a music director and a sound designer, the audio director and I would hire none other than Bill Conti.

I liked the bass so much that I studied bass performance and music composition in my undergrad in both jazz and classical settings. Up until Covid, I played in the local symphonies in Charlottesville and Waynesboro. In Pennsylvania I played in both the Nittany Valley and Altoona symphonies. Currently I am playing a lot of jazz gigs in addition to other genres.

I also play electric bass. I like to play groove oriented music with improv jamming out – especially in a dance setting.

I continue to practice and study bass. When cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he practiced for many hours a day at the age of 83, he replied, “I think I am making progress. I think I see some improvement.” Nowadays, the practice and performing on bass is a journey vs. a goal or something to be accomplished. I think a practice keeps the mind open to new approaches and ways of doing things that helps unlock creativity.