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I'm a professional bassist, musical director, arranger, and composer living and working in New York City. I freelance nightly with many different talented musicians around the metro area performing straight-ahead jazz, fusion, classic soul/R&B, funk, neo-soul/contemporary R&B, hip-hop, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Caribbean, Gospel, Broadway, classic/contemporary rock, pop, blues, etc. I tour as bassist and musical director with Les Nubians, a sister vocal duo of French and African heritage that blends neo-soul, hip-hop, jazz, drum n' bass, and various world music styles including reggae, Afro-Cuban, samba, bossa, Afro-beat, and zouk. I'm also currently performing with as well as musically directing and arranging for some other up-and-coming original artists. Stay tuned for upcoming shows! In NYC I'm involved in a few steady weekly gigs in addition to my busy freelance schedule if anyone is interested in seeing me perform locally. I'm at Club Groove (W. 3rd & MacDougal St) on Mondays with my own band Affirmation performing classic soul, R&B, and funk. I co-lead Tuesdays at historic Arthur's Tavern (Grove St & 7th Ave) with the Dean Scala Band, playing R&B, classic rock, pop, blues, and more! Every Thursday I join the world-famous house band at Cafe Wha? (MacDougal St & Minetta Lane) for R&B, rock, pop, reggae, salsa, and merengue! All of these venues can be found in Greenwich Village. I'm also the musical director of the Cafe Wha? Band for private events............................ I studied both electric and upright bass in high school, during my active-duty enlistment in the US Army, and at the Jazz Studies program at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, SUNY. I've had the privilege of studying with John Patitucci, Todd Coolman, Leo Traversa, Lincoln Goines, Tony Cimorosi, Kip Sophos, Michael Goetz, Tony Stevenson, Jason Langley, Jay Azzolina, Jon Faddis, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Billy Kilson, Dave Taylor, Charles Blenzig, Pete Malinverni, John Riley, Ray Vega, and Jim Pugh, among others......................... Being a musician has afforded me the opportunity to travel all around the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Bahamas, St. Thomas, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Grand Cayman, Belize, Honduras, Modeira, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Sicily, Malta, Greece, Greek Isles, Croatia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. I love to travel and learn about foreign culture and language and I am very thankful that I've been able to experience this in my life. I'm looking forward to adding some new exciting places to this list very soon!........................ Besides performing internationally, I have played at venues in American cities outside NYC such as Yoshi's (Oakland, CA), Anthology (San Diego, CA), Key Club (Los Angeles, CA), Triple Door (Seattle, WA), House of Blues (Chicago), Hot House (Chicago), Birchmere (DC area), Bohemian Caverns (DC), Roxy (Boston, MA), BellyUp (San Diego, CA & Aspen, CO), among others, as well as prominent festivals including the UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival (Los Angeles, CA), Festival Mizik Jakmel (Haiti), Sandy Lane Gold Cup Festival (Barbados), African Festival of the Arts (Chicago, IL), Leaf Festival (Black Mountain, NC), Sierra Neveda World Music Festival (CA), Earthdance Festival (CA), and the National Black Arts Festival (Atlanta, GA), among others. I have perfomed at renowned venues in NYC such as the Blue Note, Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar, Café Wha?, BB King's, Sweet Rhythm, Groove, Village Underground, Joe's Pub, Highline Ballroom, Webster Hall, Knitting Factory, Red Lion, S.O.B.’s, Fez, Terra Blues, Supper Club, Cutting Room, Kavehaz, Bitter End, Coda, C-Note, Don’t Tell Mama’s, Essence Bar, Prohibition, Session 73, Gonzalez Y Gonzalez, Arlene’s Grocery, CB’s Gallery, Den, Café Creole, Wimp’s, Arthur’s Tavern, Sutra Lounge, Triad, M-1, Canal Room, Crash Mansion, Solomon's Porch, Billie's Black, The Hook, Time Cafe, National Underground, and Stitch, among others. I have shared the stage with Broadway stars at the Lamb's Theatre, Marquis Theatre, Helen Hayes Theatre, and the Tarrytown Music Hall, among others. I have performed on television on BET Jazz............................ I am proud to endorse Alleva-Coppolo Bass Guitars (www.allevacoppolo.com) and Aguilar Amplification (www.aguilaramp.com). Both of these companies started in NYC (Alleva-Coppolo recently moved to LA) and offer outstanding custom instruments and amplifiers, respectively, for dedicated performing musicians! Check out the websites for more information.............................
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