Can't remember a time when music didn't obsess me...

My first lucid memories are being allowed as a young three year old to operate my grandparents' 78 after I showed them I wouldn't ruin the records or the needle! Old English bigband records, some Ellington, Basie, Paul Whiteman, things like that. Strangely, I come from a family of almost non-existent musical talent, apparently I had a great-great aunt that was a concert pianist, but the rest... nada!

My family had a record player, and upon reflection, a nice enough modest collection of records, but I just don't ever remember them playing them much. It was always me who fired up the LP's. My mother was into Sinatra, my Dad light classical, or easy listening, but my favorite set of records was one of those Ella Fitzgerald singing the Rogers and Hart collections. Nelson Riddle at his finest...

I pleaded and begged my parents for piano lessons from about six, but it wasn't until I was about eleven before I got my wish. One year of strict (and I do mean strict!) classical made me convinced that wasn't what I wanted to do! Then a move to a mobile home for a few months while a new home was being built, no room for a piano, so I got an nice little 48 bass accordion fro Christmas. What an eye opener! All of a sudden, the circle of fifths made SENSE! The relational aspect of chord changes made sense! I started playing by ear, and the chord changes seemed logical. I was soon doing garden parties, sing-alongs, Morris dancing, ceilidhs and folk music and anything I could do (at twelve!).

Then we moved into the new house, got a nice baby grand, and it was time to get a teacher. After my year at the hands of the martinet, I knew I wanted something different, so I talked my parents into lessons from a local cocktail pianist who also had decent classical chops. Best move I EVER made! Comping, reading fake charts, playing by ear, all those things classical pianists have no idea about... this guy taught me it all, and my ear grew by leaps and bounds...

Then at fourteen, something new. I wanted to play a horn (English brass bands are a way of life over there), started on trumpet/cornet, then moved to baritone euphonium after a couple of months, got decent (played in the County Band and with the National Youth Band a few times) and stayed therer a cople of years. Then, I decided to get serious about the horn, and was advised that basically, not a lot of pro euphonium players , and perhaps trombone was a good move. So I moved to that, and started to get REALLY good (played principal t'bone at county, national brass band and local orchestra level) so, to my parents' dismay, decided to pursue it as a career instead of medicine or the law! Yeah, I never said I made GOOD choices!

Went to Music College and got a Bachelors in performance trombone, with a minor in piano, but all strictly classical. England really only had one jazz program back then, most were strictly classical, But, in the end, I feel that was the best thing, as I have met FAR too many jazz college graduates that are absolutely MISERABLE unless they are blowing bebop (not you, Bebop! ) and can't stand regular pop and rock... At least college gave me the technique to play what I wanted, without shoving one form of music down my throat!

Anyway, out of college, looking for work. Like they say, not many trombonists with a beeper! Wanted to go into keyboards but broke, so I got a bass and pl;ayed bass for a year to make enough for my first organ. Played around the Clacton, Frinton, Ipswich area (East coast holiday area in England), and finally had enough to buy my first Hammond. Thenb started playing organ in rock and jazz bands. Did a few stints doing the Butlins type things... great fun! Played Deep Purple and Zeppelin, Faces and rock things like that at night, but did all the cabaret backing gigs too, so a wide range of music to cover. Loads of fun.

After that, moved on to the Mecca circuit, played Sheffield, Northampton, Coventry and finally a decent stint in Nottingham in a ten piece. Three or four nights playing top forty (and in England, top forty was anything from the Sex Pistols to Dolly Parton!) and one night doing all ballroom standards. Nice big rig by then... Hammond, Farfisa, Rhodes, Yamaha electric, Oddesey, Crumar Orchestrator, and a CS60 polysynth. Makes my 45 lbs. G70 look like an S910!

After that, a stint for Cunard playing the Carribean, more top forty and ballroom dancing, another ten piece, and there I was 'discovered' by some New York types. After my contract was over, was invited to go up there and get into the recording scene. Like they say, if you can make it there...

Got into doing some session work, and also worked with a pretty busy arranger, and made aliving either on sessions or I would also copy parts for his arrangements. String charts, horn charts, very occasionally orchestra. Back then, no computers. All session charts were written by hand, in ink That was a great apprenticeship for learning how to arrange. Then, through him, I got into Musical Directing, funk bands, mostly. I was having a lot of fun, but basically treading water economically. But I got to play with quite a few of my heroes, doing sessions on commercials, industrials and the odd album.

But I'm a farm boy at heart, grew up the countryside of Northamptonshire on a small farm, and never REALLY was comfortable in the Big Apple. Used to live on 52nd St. (funny for a Billy Joel fan!) and round the corner from the Brill Building, etc., but knew it was time to get out of the city and go see America, so I got in with a road band and toured a bit. After a year or so, ended up playing down in the Panhandle of Florida back when this was Spring Break Heaven! More pretty girls and great bands than you could shake a stick at, and a nice local community of players that didn't have the big city hustle and backstabbing habits I had seen so much up North...

So I settled down. Did a stint in Mobile and met my wife there, moved back to Ft Walton. Went to Memphis after Hurricane Opal wiped up out. Came back. Went to New Orleans, did about a year on Bourbon Street with a ten piece, loads of fun, but the big city thing again... moved back to Destin. My wife passed away in 2001, and that was no picnic, but music keeps me going...

So here I still am... I play as much as possible. Do quite a bit of local and national session work through a studio that opened here a few years ago, have my own production studio at home, and also do a fair bit of local mastering work and pre-production work. But my love is still playing live. Got to admit, the vast majority of my work doesn't usually involve machines, although for the last seven years or so (up until early 2009) I was doing a reasonable percentage of it as a duo, and used the arranger quite a lot. Last couple of years has been a lot more live band, and I have to admit, it's a LOT more rewarding, musically. I always prefer a musical conversation with a human being rather than a machine!

So, here we are up to date... still playing, still recording, still obsessed by music. Some things never change!