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my first instrument was the piano my

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parents I think I was 6 years old and
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they asked me what do you think about
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taking some piano lessons and I didn't
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really know any reason to say no I said
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sure why not
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and just stuck with it and over the
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years it sort of became sort of a part
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of my voice
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yeah I've studied classical piano for
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about 1011 years and I went to LA County
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High School for the Arts and that's when
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I sort of started to focus more on jazz
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music and started meeting kids my own
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age we're really excited about the music
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which was very inspiring and sort of
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pushes you along also then I went to USC
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for two years study with Shelly Berg
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then I went to Manhattan school music
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for my junior year got to study with
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Kenny Barron that year and I came back
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to USC to finish up my degree standing
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with Billy child's so that's the formal
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education but I think as a lot of people
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know this music is is really a
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self-taught art form so the most
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valuable experiences are really just the
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records that you listen to over and over
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and over growing up and the jam sessions
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that you go to and get your butt kicked
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at and so I went through all the the
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usual dues-paying as it were and along
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with going to school
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no I didn't really feel any sort of
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extra pressure
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I think this music is daunting enough
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for anybody you know and I think the
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advantage is definitely outweigh any
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sort of negative aspects of coming from
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a musical family just being able to see
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the lifestyle behind the music getting
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to see these you know the rehearsals and
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the sound checks and sort of the love
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that these grown men had for the music
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go men and women but they would get
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together and just tell jokes and give
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each other hugs and it was a really
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loving environment I think that's the
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main thing I took away from from you
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know being in a musical family but yeah
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the the you got a you got a surrender
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and be humble to the music regardless of
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where you come from
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some of my teachers and mentors
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obviously my father and my uncle my
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family but I had the fortune of touring
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with Roy Hargrove for three years which
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was a great experience
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clark terry i got to work with him a
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little bit and that was really great
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boy the list is really long but it's
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long because it's all my peers it's all
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the people that i play with i feel like
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every time I hit the bandstand with
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somebody it's it's a learning experience
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in some way so you know all my favorite
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musicians that I love to work with now
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like Ambrose a commuter he and Dana
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Stevens and Gretchen Parr lotto satchel
03:32
vest and Donny
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Logan Richardson mark Turner the list
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really goes on and on and on and like I
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said every time you play with them you
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sort of you feel yourself expanding or
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growing in a certain direction
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my first paid gig was at like a country
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club somewhere in LA for some sort of
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event for I think it was like high
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school athletes or something and at the
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time I had mostly classical music in my
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repertoire and a few like boogie-woogie
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pieces and I just sort of cycled them
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over and over and over I don't even
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remember would have paid probably under
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$100 maybe $50 gig or something but I
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think I was maybe 12 or 13 so that was a
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was a cool big deal for me
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the first record that I fell in love
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with was Oscar Peterson Nightrain I had
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just listened to that over and over and
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over until I was singing every single
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note and at some point sat down the
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piano so let me try to figure some of
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this out and still have to do some work
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on that and but it's it's still one of
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my favorites I still go back to that I
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was really into Oscar as a young age so
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I was checking out Oscar Peterson plus
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Clark Terry trio plus one that's another
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desert island record for me Oscar
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Peterson with Milt Jackson very tall so
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that's all my Oscar stuff then I you
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know I went through all the greats went
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through Herbie and Chick and Keith and
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Brad Mehldau and Gonzalo Rubalcaba so
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the list is long now but it all started
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from that that first Oscar record
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yeah times are certainly different you
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know there's not as many bands to twirl
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with year around and learn from the way
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that there were and back in the day with
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the Art Blakey band and Betty Carter and
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but I think that there are still there's
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a plethora of amazing musicians on the
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scene and I think you may have to be a
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little more proactive but you can seek
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those people out and sort of still
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follow that old model of being an
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apprentice to a particular sound a
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particular style or a particular
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musician so it's still possible but I
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think it just takes a little bit more
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proactivity
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you