At the age of 18, you joined Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers. How did that come about?
I was introduced to Art Blakey by my friend James Williams, who played piano with Blakey in the ’70s. James recommended me to Art while I was going to Berklee in 1989. I sat in (the unofficial “audition” process) with Art at Mikell’s club in NYC in the spring, and he hired me that September. What other Jazz giants have you performed with and who is your favorite? Among others, some of my favorites to work with have been Jim Hall, Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, and Ingrid Jensen. At what point did you decide on a career in music? What was it that made you / helped you decide? I started working with my dad’s band when I was 15, and was playing 2-3 gigs a week throughout high school. When most of my friends were getting “real” jobs, I was happy to be making a little money doing what I loved the most — playing music! There was never really anything else that I wanted to do. You already have 11 solo releases. To most, that’s a lifetime of achievement. Did you wr
