After growing up with AM radio, I was introduced to classic rock and started playing electric bass at 12 because I wanted to be the next Chris Squire. The high school years brought everything from heavy metal bands to an increased interest in jazz, thanks to Jeff Leonard and the jazz program at Lexington High School. At the University of New Hampshire I learned to play upright bass, and did a crazy amount of practicing and playing in various jazz groups and the UNH orchestra. Important personal and musical relationships were formed during those years. After college, I performed with free jazz band Marsupial Hat, a Zappa-inspired rock band called The Zaklees, and singer/songwriter Kaye Kelly, among others. I also performed as a session musician on many recordings in and around Boston and had a busy schedule of freelance jazz gigs.
After years of doing session work, I wanted to make more of a statement of my own, and recorded a solo bass album in 2006. This led to connecting with saxophonist Thom Keith, and together we formed the free improvising group Equal Time, and co-founded the improvising artists collective and concert series Avant Coast. Equal Time played a couple of shows with trumpeter Eddie Gale and trombonist Dick Griffin that served as a launching point for the group.
Currently I can be found playing with avant-groove band Future Memory, and am always keeping ears open for interesting musical adventures. I continue do plenty of freelance work, making music with a lot of the characters listed below.
Some of the musicians I’ve worked with:
Dave Bryant, piano/keys (Ornette Coleman)
Curtis Clark, piano (David Murray, Julian Priester)
Francis Dunnery, singer/songwriter/guitar (It Bites)
Equal Time
Future Memory
Eddie Gale, trumpet (Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor)
Forbes Graham, trumpet
Luther Gray, drums
Dick Griffin, trombone (Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sun Ra, McCoy Tyner)
Les Harris, Jr., drums
Paul Heckel, vibraphone
Chris Humphrey, vocals/piano
Michael Gregory Jackson, guitar/vocals (Oliver Lake, Wadada Leo Smith)
Charlie Jennison, saxophones
Thom Keith, saxophones
Kaye Kelly, singer/songwriter
Chris Klaxton, trumpet
Marc LaForce, saxophones
Matt Langley, saxophones
Marsupial Hat
Ralph Norris, saxophone
Mark Shilansky, piano
Tom Snow, piano
David Tonkin, guitar
G. Calvin Weston, drums (Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer)
The Zaklees