Q. What inspired you to first pick up the saxophone and what were your first attempts at playing these instruments?
A. I wanted to play the Oboe when I was a child and my father chose the Alto Saxophone. My first attempts were very rewarding for me. I imediately fell in love love with the sax and starting to play by ear right away. My first song that I ever learned was Paul Desmond's version of A Bridge over Troubled Waters.
Q. Did you take lessons or are you self-taught?
A. I did take lessons and have been quite fortunate to study with some wonderful people. My first teacher was Harvey LaRose (Phil Woods sax teacher as well). I have also studied with Charles Majeed Greenlee, Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Max Roach, Barry Harris, Lynn Klock, George Coleman, Danillo Perez and Billy Harper.
Q. Who inspired you to learn the saxophone?
A. My first and foremost inspiration came from Grover Washington Jr.
Q. What is your practice regimen like?
A. I practice longtones, intervals , scales, arpeggios, extensions and then work on learning something new.
Q. How would you define your style of playing?
A. I would say that my style is a mixture of many. Blues, Jazz, Fusion and also Smooth Jazz.
Q. What can we expect from your debut CD release, "That's Wassup"?
A. Real music thats not filtered. All the songs on the Cd are recorded live and many of the songs were first takes.
Q. Tell us about the musicians that appear on your CD?
A. Mike Feingold plays guitar and he has worked with Jay Z, Boney James and so many more. Lenny Stallworth plays the bass on the Cd and he works with Kenny Garrett and Roy Hargrove. Jimmy "Junebug" Jackson plays the drums on the Cd is also the co-producer of the Cd. He has worked with so many R&B and Jazz legends such as Donnie Hathaway and played with Jimmy Smith for over 20 years. Chip Crawford on keyboards and piano is one of my favorite pianists that I have ever worked with or ever heard play. He has toured and recorded with the Four tops and Mr.B Billy Eckstine. Frank Wilkins also plays keyboards and piano on the Cd. Frank is my homeboy and he is without a doubt one of the greatest musicians around. Frank has worked with many artists as such as Mike Stern, Najee, Angela Bofil and Kevin Eubanks to name a few.
Q. Lets talk about your creative process. How do you approach writing an original song - do you compose from the saxophone or the keyboard?
A. I usually compose from the piano, but I have written from the saxophone as well.
Q. What challenges do you face when switching from different styles of music?
A. I really don't fell a challenge. I just try and be true to the style of music that I'm playing.
Q. What other types of music or artists do you derive inspiration from?
A. I listen to so many styles of music. My range is from Country to Arabic.
Q. What's the most important bit of advice you were given by another musician?
A. "Practice all of the boring stuff every day." (quote from Junior Cook)
Q. What's been your proudest playing moment?
A. Opening for Ray Charles and hanging out with him in Finland.
Q. What's the biggest disaster you've ever had on stage, and how did you cope with it?
A. I was just going on stage to perform at a festival in Europe and as I was walking on stage I slipped on the stairs going to the stage and fell while holding my saxophone. I was fine but my sax was in pretty bad shape. I had only brought one with me and we were going on in a few seconds. I could only use the upper register of the horn and this made for a very long gig. I am really careful now.
Q. Do you warm up before a concert and if so how?
A. Yeah, slow longtones and intervalic exercises.
Q. What's the most important bit of advice you could give to new saxophone players?
A. Take your time and have fun with it. It's a blessing to be able to play music and bring happiness to so many people. Thank God evryday for your gift of love.
Q. Thanks for your time and consideration for this article and interview. Any last thoughts for our readers?
A. That's Wassup!
