Bassist with Lionel Hampton and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, as well as with vocalist Cassandra Wilson
Performances with conductors Lukas Foss and Robert Fountain
Performances with Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, Jon Hendricks, Joe Williams, and others
Worked with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall, guest appearances at the White House under presidents Reagan and Clinton, and performed with the operatic diva Marilyn Home
Recordings include The Watcher (Leon Dorsey, Vincent Herring, and Don Braden), Song of Songs (Leon Dorsey, Bryan Carrott, Carlton Holmes, and Vincent Ector), Today’s Love Songs,Tomorrow’s Blues (Arthur Prysock), The Other Side (Oliver Lake), New York Story (Hilton Ruiz), among others
Composer and arranger

Education

School Name

Stony Brook University

State or Province

New York

Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Field of Study

Music

Date Degree Received

2016
School Name

Manhattan School of Music

State or Province

New York

Degree

Master of Music (MM)

Field of Study

Contemporary Classical Music Performance

Date Degree Received

1986
School Name

University of Wisconsin-Madison

State or Province

Wisconsin

Degree

Master of Music (MM)

Field of Study

Music

Date Degree Received

1983

In Their Own Words

"I think it is extremely important that facts and information given to students have an inherent functionality. This is so application is intimately linked with information. The student should be taught to breathe life into whatever information is received from the instructor. Teachers should fuel the desire to learn within the student."