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Born in Yonkers, N.Y., I was privilaged to grow up in a warm and musical
family. From the start, I was exposed to a diverse range of genres. My Father
loved Big Band and Swing, my Mother grew up listening to the Grand 'Ol Opry and
my older Brothers listened to Rock, Blues and straight ahead Jazz. I loved all
of it. My Brothers were my first guitar mentors. At age 7, I was playing trumpet
in the school band and taking folk guitar lessons. By high school, my cousin
Carl and I had started our first band.
In 1986 I moved to Florida. I
studied Jazz, harmony and theory with Jim Graves at Daytona Beach Community
College. For the next few years I did session work and played with various Rock,
Top 40 and Blues bands throughout Florida. In 1990 I went on the road with a
Country band.
In 1992 I moved to Nashville and immersed myself in its
rich music scene. While there, I studied Jazz and Funk with the great Reggie
Wooten. I did demo sessions, and toured with The Cox Family, Michael Martin
Murphey, Doug Stone, Vern Gosdin, Vicki Bird, Randy Stafford and others. I also
did other jobs such as producing, road managing, sound and lighting.
1996
was a heavy year. On July 27th, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary, less than a week later, my Father died suddenly. A month after
that, I met the sweet, beautiful woman that would be my wife.
In 1998 I
moved back to New York and got married. In 1999 my wife encouraged me to pursue
my other life-long passion; aviation. I started taking flying lessons and am now
a commercial pilot. I am working on getting my instructors rating so I can teach
others to fly. Also in '99, I enrolled at Lehman College where I had the honor
of studying composition with John Corigliano as well as many of the other
brilliant luminaries on the faculty at Lehman. In 2001 I received my B.A. in
music. Upon my return to New York in '98, I started working Tuesdays and
Wednesdays in a duo with long time friend Artie Tobia, which continues to this
day!
Currently, I live in New England with my wife and three children. My
favorite thing to do is spend time with my family. In addition to working 4-6
nights a week, I stay busy doing recording sessions, teaching guitar and working
on my flight instructor rating. I embrace each day and look forward to every
minute of this life!
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