I grew up near San Francisco. As a toddler I was fascinated with records and the radio. There’s a picture of me looking at an album as big as my chest. We got a piano, but it was a few years before I made the connection between playing it and the pop music that I loved. I started lessons and was given a good basis in harmony and theory, and had an aptitude for sight reading. I heard John Coltrane’s Quartet on the radio, a life-changing experience.
As a teenager I was able to freelance in bands and for theater. I went to Berklee College of Music a couple of years, later moving to Los Angeles, supporting myself with playing and recording, theater music-directing. I played with Moris Tepper (Captain Beefheart / Tom Waits) Accompanying songwriters, theater and comedy influenced my music, as did a few years’ work as a film sound-effects editor. I married and we had a son.
I began leading a piano-bass-drums trio. I/we recorded Dreaming, an album mostly of standards, and What We Have, an album of my own music.
In 2010 I began a residency, performing three-four nights a week with my trio. We developed a collective voice playing recent pop and indie music. While covering other people’s music we developed a sound as a group.
We recorded The Best of All Possible Worlds and Rocket Science, trio albums with well-known or obscure covers and some original music. Both albums had some success on American and Canadian radio stations. I traveled to Scotland to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In 2013 I moved to Germany. Life in California had become more difficult after the 2007 economic crisis and I was looking for a better quality of life. I enjoyed learning the language, but it took a while to re-establish myself as a performer.
I recorded Chromakey Dreamcoat in California and produced Songs, a collaboration with Sophie Bancroft (UK).
During the Corona lockdown I started “remixing”, over-dubbing to music or video available through Creative Commons. Response from the artists involved was positive and led to collaborations. A new artistic direction developed: ambient piano music with electronic elements. I filmed or edited video to go with the recordings, released them on YouTube. Re:dbs was a collaboration with UK ambient artist sevenism. Then (and after) included further collaboration with Sevenism, vocalist Iokokanoa (DE) plus California colleagues Jerry Kalaf and Barry Coates.
During lockdown, I tried to go deeper with some of the eternal challenges of musicians — working on things like playing in every key, reading classical music, memorising songs, learning music by ear. I’ve enjoyed practicing and studying new things.
Heartfelt was a duo album project with vocalist Sharon Anegg (AU). We’ve performed in and around Vienna with bassist Gina Schwarz.
My son is now married and they have a daughter!
Mood Music was recorded in Los Angeles, inspired by music my mother enjoyed. The album may seem like a 180-turn from earlier musical interests … so be it …
