Saxophone | Keys | Arranging

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I'm very proud of Progger's four albums (with the fifth in the works) as well as my solo album, "Soundtracks for Trying Times." Composing and producing the music for those albums was tremendous joy and I look forward to the next!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Along with arrangements and recordings for Soundbetter clients, I'm flying in and out of town regularly to do work for a pop star and starting production work on the fifth album for my beloved fusion band, Progger!

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: I have many friends from my years as a professional musician here on Soundbetter, and you should hire them! Just to name a few: Jordan Perlson for drums, Isamu McGregor for keyboards, Phillip Lassiter for trumpet, and Sylvester Onyejiaka for saxophones and woodwinds.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! We live in an age of unprecedented capabilities and potential. I believe in using the best modern tools for the job from everything available. I have top-tier instruments, microphones, and preamps, and I love them, but I also love my state-of-the-art software. Judicious use of both is one of the secrets to my success (although it's not much of a secret).

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I will always be communicative, honest, and accountable!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Composing and improvising music are my favorite things to do, period. When I have the ability to write and record arranging layers for someone else's beautiful song, I feel no doubt that I have the best job in the world for me.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Professional musicians make the job seem easy and joyful. And it is, to be sure, very joyful! But developing these skills on a high level is anything but easy, even for naturally gifted musicians. It takes consistency, discipline, dedication, and a very long time to be able to provide high-quality studio session work.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Most importantly: what, specifically, do you need from me that you don't already have? What musical elements am I providing you? More contextually: What's your time frame/deadline? How much has been written by you, and how much do I need to write/arrange/improvise? Which instruments do you need, and how many takes would you like for each role I'm playing?

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: I love working with large varieties of clients from diverse backgrounds, but, typically, your project will go better if you provide all the files and information necessary for a smooth recording job. This depends on the job at hand, of course: if you want me to write and build you an entire arrangement of a song, send me the original version (demo or professional) and as much detailed information about your final vision as possible. Have your essential technical information down, as well: your tempo, time signature, key center, sample rate, bit depth, and specific guidelines for length, direction, style, instrumentation, all that. If I'm just tracking instrument overdubs for a reference track, provide that reference track with any temporary demo parts I'd replace as separate tracks, so I can hear them and then mute them! If you have written sheet music, send it along as well. Make sure I have any relevant tempo and tempo change information so I can sync your track up with my DAW.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Given the likely restrictions of power and building infrastructure in such a situation, I think I could narrow it down to just two: an acoustic guitar and a flute!

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started playing piano when I was a toddler and became a working musician on multiple instruments in high school, around 25 years ago. I put myself through higher education by playing gigs as a saxophonist, pianist, and bassist, and these days I work most frequently as a pianist/keyboardist and pianist/woodwind doubler with a huge variety of artists, producers, and clients (including some very famous ones). Meanwhile, I've composed and arranged a large amount of music for my own albums, television, indie film, and podcasts.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I normally work in the intersection of jazz, funk, rock, and soul music, the quintessential foundations of America's largest contributions to world culture. I've studied classical European music and jazz very seriously but I've always loved the raw, genuine power of rock, funk, and hip hop, so my skills end up being useful for basically anything under the umbrella of contemporary American-rooted music. My love of music spans a confusing array of heroes, from soundtrack composers like John Williams and Nobuo Uematsu to hip hop artists like Dr. Dre and Busta Rhymes; heavy artists like Pantera and Nine Inch Nails to straight-ahead jazz from Wayne Shorter and Kenny Kirkland. And a lot more.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I would love nothing more than to be a member of Sting's band ca. 1985 so I could learn from the likes of Kenny Kirkland, Branford Marsalis, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim, and Mr. Sumner himself. The greatest "pop" band that ever walked the earth!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Listen, and mix, at low volume levels. This is how you can balance the big-picture concept with the zoomed-in details.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: My background is in jazz, funk, soul, rock, RnB, and fusion, and I work most often in those styles. I've been fortunate to work with a number of influential artists in those realms, as well as hip hop, gospel, reggae/dancehall, Brazilian, and Cuban traditions. There are plenty of electronic and pop artists and producers I enjoy, too!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I do have reasonably freaky ears. If you send me a complicated, note-dense composition with angular lines all over the place, chances are good that I'll be able to transcribe and recreate it on any of my instruments pretty quickly. But the bigger picture benefit here is my ability to listen to the concept of a song or composition and create and/or execute arrangement layers that help give it depth, sophistication, energy, and life.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: As a composer myself, I have tremendous respect for the role of the writer in every artistic field. My goal as a session musician and arranger is to find the right sounds and parts to serve the concept of the song itself.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: By the time a client sends me a project here on Soundbetter, they usually have the form and foundation of their track in place: the song form and drums/bass/guitar (or MIDI placeholders for those) provide context for me to add whatever arrangement layers need to go on top to bring it to life. This can include piano, electric piano, or organ accompaniment; saxophone/flute arrangements or improvised fills; or carefully layered synth pads and leads. Some clients write out a specific keyboard, saxophone, or woodwind parts via MIDI demo or old-school sheet music, which is always lovely! Regardless, clients who hire me should feel free to provide as much verbal detail as they want regarding what they need for their production. Reference recordings are always very helpful, too: if you've hired me, the chances are good that we have similar taste in music! I'd love to help your song approach the quality of our mutual heroes.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I record in a professionally-treated room with state-of-the-art equipment. I use and love microphones by Neumann, Austrian Audio, Beyerdynamic, and more; top-end preamps and converters by RME; powerful software by Spectrasonics, Arturia, Native Instruments, Spitfire, and nearly anything else you could think of. I use an intentionally hybrid workflow that involves the best of acoustic, analog, and digital audio designs. Most importantly, I've spent countless hours getting to know my environment and getting the best out of it.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I'm heavily inspired by the great artists, writers, and musicians of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s: The classic bands assembled for live tours and studio sessions by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Chaka Khan; Weather Report, Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters, Return to Forever, the Mahavishnu Orchestra; anything Prince, Miles Davis, or Quincy Jones ever touched. I also have a deep love and gratitude for a broad range of the great composers and songwriters of numerous traditions and genres: Maurice Ravel, Wayne Shorter, Paul Simon, Sergei Prokofiev, Joni Mitchell, Claude Debussy, and on and on.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I typically provide professionally recorded saxophone, keyboard (piano, electric piano, organ, synth), and woodwind (flute, clarinet) parts as specified by each client. Some clients need me to arrange parts, while others have specific written parts already in mind, and I enjoy working either way. Additionally, I'll often provide energetic improvised solos on any of the above instruments, but most frequently tenor saxophone, with multiple options and revisions available per project.