I started musical studies at about age 8, when my mother insisted I study a musical instrument, and she arranged for me to take piano lessons.  My piano teacher, an imposing and strict "old school" instructor, would hit my hands whenever I made a mistake (which I remember as being painfully frequent).  After several months, I somehow managed to convince my mother that I was better suited to guitar than piano.

At age 9, I started guitar lessons and took a quick liking to the instrument.  Long Island, NY had a vibrant guitar scene at the time, and I was fortunate to study with Joe Monk and Billy Bauer, both well known and extraordinarily talented players and instructors.  During high school and college, I played in several bands that few people alive today can recall having heard of.  There apparently are no surviving recordings of those bands and, according to some of the people involved, that probably isn’t a bad thing.

More recently, I studied with jazz pros Jeff Tillman, Tom Dempsey and Roni Ben-Hur, and I have played in several jazz ensembles and big bands - in a broad variety of settings, from jazz festivals in the US and Europe, to Carnegie Hall, jazz clubs, restaurants, an occasional bar or winery gig, and private events.  I also do some writing and arranging - a few original tunes are featured on my CDs On the Beach, and Beyond.

A recent project has been backing up vocalist Liz Ingalls.  Many of the venues we play want a "big" sound but have a "little" budget (i.e., other musicians aren't an option).  Electronics came to the rescue, and after decades of playing straight into amplifiers I needed to learn how to make a guitar sound like as close to a whole band as possible.  Here's a picture of my pedalboard, affectionately (sometimes) known as "The Beast."