My primary instrument is the contrabass, and I work mainly in jazz, improvisation, and experimental music. I double bass guitar if asked and have played guitar seriously in the past.
I'm basically self-taught but benefited from some undergrad classes with Elaine Barkin and Paul Rinzler, from being around the great bassists Ken Filiano (when he was a ringer accompanying my high school musicals) and Jeff Halsey, and from improvisation workshops led by Ellen Burr, Wolfgang Fuchs, John Butcher and Gino Robair, Evan Parker, Barry Guy, Raymond Strid, and others. I now study with David H. Young and took a few lessons from Jennifer Leitham, which were extremely helpful.
A full gig list, past and upcoming, follows, but here's the bullet point project list:
- MESTO, the Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra, is a 30-40 piece group led by Dr. Nabil Azzam. MESTO plays music from many countries and cultures, emphasizing the Middle East. I'm on some of MESTO's album The Crescent which is available at CD Baby (with free preview streams), Amazon, and iTunes, as well as directly from mesto.org. A second CD is in the works.
- Surrealestate is a long-running improvising group of unstable size and membership founded by Robert Reigle. Surrealestate is featured in Sync or Swarm: Improvising Music in a Complex Age by emeritus member David Borgo,. An earlier version of some of this material is here. Surrealestate's CD, Contrafactum and two Robert Reigle discs featuring the group were recorded before I joined. They're on the Acoustic Levitation label, available through Cadence. An excerpt from our January 30, 2005 concert at El Camino College is on a compilation connected to the 2005 Long Beach Soundwalk. Cristian Amigo's L.A. Live Sessions CD is mostly Surrealestate performances, and Phil Curtis' Slutskaya mixes players in the Surrealestate circle, Vinny Golia, and lots of electronics. I'm on most of Cristan's CD and one track of Phil's. Tracks from both are available at the links. Cristian Amigo's new Kingdom of Jones uses some Surrealestate recordings as part of an electronic piece.
- In July 2004 I played a solo bass set at the much-missed Line Space Line new music series. Later that year selections from my home recordings came out as Solo Bass 2004 on Vogel Records (not the obscure German label, but an even tinier LA CD-R label. It now appears to have vanished off the face of the Earth, which is just as well. I'll make more.
- Rich West's band with Lynn Johnston, Charles Sharp, or Brian Walsh (reeds), Dan Clucas and/or Bruce Friedman (brass), and Emily Beezhold or Ben Rosenbloom (keyboards).
- The Watts Ensemble is a neo-Third Stream big band/chamber orchestra led by drummer/composer Brian Watson.
- Mix & match free improvisation events. These require instantly inventing ways to work with people you've often never heard or met before. The process may be more interesting than the product, but that's not a bad thing. It's "the sound of surprise" taken to another level.
- One-offs and pickup bands ranging from the house trio at a straightahead jazz jam night to Glenn Branca. Call me.