Pop and jazz saxophonist, composer, producer, educator, and philanthropist whose newest album was released in February. His credits include performances alongside Hip-Hop icon Ja Rule, Motown legends the Four Tops, Latin Grammy-winning rock act Diamante Eléctrico, Billboard-charting trumpeter Cindy Bradley, and Modern Drummer Hall of Famer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. In addition, he has served as the featured saxophonist on the series finale of NBC's “Lipstick Jungle,” starring Brooke Shields, headlined New York City's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular, and performed at the nationally televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On September 25th he will be performing at the Iridium in New York City. Then in October he’ll perform two shows in China, followed by shows in Spain.
“My previous albums, I've always had different mix engineers, different mastering engineers, and I always felt that the end product was good, it just wasn't good enough for what I wanted. And so, I said let me just do this from front to end and kind of do all of it and see what I could do.”
“At the end of the day it's my creativity, it's my brand.”
“That's just being very self-aware of who I am as an artist, where I am in my career. Earlier in my career, I probably couldn't handle that pressure, so I had other people doing those roles for me.”
“This latest album … is literally just the time for people to notice me. And I know that sounds really arrogant and really, really stubborn and full of myself, but I think it's just, I've done all the work. I've done the side man; I've done everything I could to now it's … right here right now. It's … kind of like my time.”
“Music is just such a humbling life… that I wouldn't know what else to do in this world if I didn't do music.”
“Music is intrusive everywhere. So, it's really hard ... But when I'm in a real particular writing mode where I'm either trying to finish songs for a new album or something, I really try to limit that exposure or I'll try to wake up and just write first thing in the morning so I literally have no interference in what I'm trying to get down on paper.”
“There really aren't ‘new ideas’ out there, quote unquote, because there's only so many notes and there's only so many rhythmic possibilities to put those notes. So, like other artists before me have said it's a giant stew or giant melting pot and we all kind of take a little bit of it that we like and then we add our own spice to it to make some new recipe.”
“Ozzie (Melendez) is a lifelong friend that I've known for … I would say maybe close to 20 years. And … actually, he was the trombonist with Mark Anthony for a very long time. And now he's the trombonist with Bruce Springsteen. And so, Ozzie comes in once in a while and does some things for me and he's … a spectacular artist.”
“I said, I need a guitarist … And so, Miles is the guitarist with Acoustic Alchemy… they are one of the staples in the smooth jazz world for like 30 years. And Miles is such a gifted and wonderful person. So, I reached out to Miles and … he crushed it.”
“That's a lifetime of working and networking and always being professional when you're out meeting people. It's really the little things in this industry that can either help you get in the door or slam the door in your face.”
“How can I take an audience member on a trip? And that's really what I try to do as a live performer is just relate to everybody. And it's interesting being an instrumentalist, right, because there's no vocals, so how do I connect with an audience through an instrument? And it's really how you approach and how you play every single note.”
“You could say a whole lot with one note. And then it's leaving that space to kind of let the audience wonder what's next or why. And then you kind of answer it.”
“If an opportunity arises, say yes for it, no matter what the opportunity is.”
“Lullaby”
“Midnight Affair”