How I got started

    Up until the fourth grade I never really gave much notice to the saxophone.  That is until the local Jr. High School Jazz Ensemble came to play at my elementary school.  On that particular afternoon, I can clearly remember sitting on the floor of the multi-purpose room listening to the band playing "The Red Phantom Rides Again" when all of a sudden all five of the saxophone players stood up and played a soli so compelling that right then and there I new I had to become a sax man.

Later that day, I asked my father if I could learn how to play the saxophone in school the following year.  Much to my delight his answer was "sure".  I spent the entire summer vacation that year telling my friends how I was going to be a sax player.  The summer didn't pass nearly quick enough for me, but eventually there were just two weeks before school was to start and I'd finally get my sax.

Little did I expect what was to happen next... My father came home with a clarinet that my cousin never played (I wonder why). He told me that if I wanted to play in the band, it would have to be the clarinet for now... so it was.  To this day, I can't stand the sound of those damn things.

Four painful clarinet playing years later... The Beltsville Jr. High band director informed me that they would be needing a tenor sax player the following year (my final year at the school).  He then gave me an old beat-up Buscheur tenor and said "learn to play this over the summer"... and so I did.  I played that piece of crap until Iwas blue in the face... and I loved it!

Me and my Selmar

Meanwhile, it's 1976 and I've heard that they've just stopped making the Selmar MK VI models of saxophones--Arguably the greatest horn ever built.  I saved like crazy to buy one, but by Christmas I still wasn't even close to having the $650 I needed.  At this point I was just hoping to get the mouthpiece I had asked "Santa" for, but even that seemed a bit unrealistic.

Then came Christmas.  The last present I unrapped was from my father--The mouthpiece!!!  I just couldn't believe it. Then my father said "try it out"... I quickly made my way to my bedroom, pulled the tattered Buscheur case out from under my bed, popped open the latches on either side of the case, and was then completely blown-away--There laid a brand new Selmar MK VI tenor saxophone in place of the old Buscheur. Needless to say, that has been my best Christmas to date.  I've owned several different saxes over the years, but my number one horn has always been and still is that very same Selmar my father suprised me with on Christmas of 1976.

Career Highlights

Playing with Dr. John the Night Tripper when I was only19 was without a doubt the biggest act I have been involved with thus far. Other national acts that I've played with include the Drifters and the Marveletts.  Beyond these groups, I've played with countless bands local to the Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas.  The most notable of these are Johnny Bombay and the Reactions, The Factory, The Adam Smasher Band, and The Theresa Gunn Group. Hit your Back button and then click on "Photos" to see me in action.