About

About

I started playing drums in Manhattan nightclubs at age 14 immersed in the colliding eras of free jazz, salsa, disco, punk, Hip-hop, breakdancing, graffiti & DJ culture, jazz fusion, new wave, new age, house, dub, reggae, dancehall…New York City was an amazing place to grow up. Much of my teenage musical education came from seeing live performances by people like Elvin Jones, Ornette Coleman, Max Roach, Sam Rivers, Mcoy Tyner, Philly Joe Jones, Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Dead Boys, Defunkt, James Chance, Bad Brains…

Since then, I’ve played with many people around the globe at major jazz festivals and clubs but I started as a punk rocker playing NYC clubs like Max’s, CBGB, Pyramid, and Peppermint Lounge. I was the house drummer for the legendary underground Giant Step parties. I wrote, performed, and produced their first release. My best street cred moments were playing drums with Tupac Shakur on MTV (voted #2 live rap performance 1993), playing at David Mancuso’s famous Love Saves the Day Loft parties; recording with Curtis Mayfield and visiting his home; and playing with Sugar Hill Gang. In the jazz realm, I’ve played with legends like Pharaoh Sanders, Ramsey Lewis, and Tony Williams, and in 2007, my band Groove Collective received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Other credits include playing with Ultra Nate, Lisa Shaw, Jody Watley, and Natalie Merchant.

I’ve produced records for major record labels like Warner, and Universal, and wrote, produced and performed music that has appeared in full-length films, and National ads.

My hardest project has been surviving as a musician and father of two in New York City with some grace and dignity, and my most daunting and recent project has been founding MOMENT NYC. We are a “living museum” hosting live events, concerts, panels, and educational programs for underserved children. We create work for local musicians and advocate for independent and underground music scenes – historically the source of many of NYC’s greatest cultural contributions. We support underrepresented local musicians and music workers at all stages of their careers, including students and retired musicians, side players, DJs, and amateurs. We’ve collaborated on programs with the NY Library for Performing Arts, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the University of Virginia, Henry Street Settlement, Queens County Fair; local venues: Nublu, SOBs, Drom, and local artist-run spaces Shapeshifter Lab, Ibeam Brooklyn, Loisaida Center, and Rubulad; and with local community gardens.

I am a naive optimist, open to all the universe contains, but also a jaded street-smart existentialist, and a closet extrovert… humming along with the universe!