Tell us about yourself. Who are you and what do you do?
Born and raised in Minneapolis, I remember wanting to play guitar starting at 3 years old. Minneapolis is famously a vibrant musical scene, and I was lucky to be exposed to a wide range of music my entire childhood, ranging from pop and folk music to classical, Jewish music, classic rock, and early hip-hop, I got a guitar and lessons in 7th grade, and knew from that first day I had my own guitar that I'd always play. I sought out anything and everything that could be played on guitar whether it was a genre I liked or not. I just wanted to play guitar. At 14 I got exposed to flamenco and jazz and then at 15 started taking flamenco lessons. I went to Spain the following summer for the first time, and the rest is history. I decided at age 15 to develop a style that I considered to be the reverse of what Paco de Lucia did with flamenco. He brought jazz and other influence into flamenco. I thought wouldn't it be cool to bring flamenco, into my blues/jazz/rock/classical background and see what happens. I went to New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation program starting in 1993. Since then my activities have been a mixture of getting deeper into all of my influences, with composition, teaching, recording multiple albums, touring, some really wonderful collaborations, and some session work being my main activities. Collaborations have included the meaningful opportunity to tour with Grammy-winning sax/flautist Jorge Pardo, who toured for 20 years with Paco de Lucia's Sextet, which was the band that really inspired me to start the journey I'm still on to this day.
What other art or artists have been inspirational to you in your work?
Well, like for most musicians the list is long. Here are some top inspirations in order of discovery:
Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Paco de Lucia (solo and Sextet), John McLaughlin, George Benson, Vicente Amigo, J.S. Bach, Miles Davis. In addition to these legends, currently I am a HUGE fan of Julian Lage and most recently the amazing Jacob Collier.
What are some memorable responses you have had to your work?
Without a doubt the most memorable response I've ever had, which was both very beautiful and a little bittersweet, was a man coming up to us after a concert in the fall of 2105, who said "you've reminded me there is still good in the world." What a poignant testament of the power music can have to penetrate "the noise" of daily life, and be an oasis of love, creativity and life affirming energy. That was very moving.
How has the COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine affected your process/creating/teaching? Has anything surprised you about adjusting to this quarantine?
This quarantine has wound up having a profound effect on my process in an unexpected way. In April, as all of my May and June concert dates were cancelled, I decided to seize the opportunity to pull my playing apart in a way I have not done in many years. Over the past two years I have been exploring some improvements and modifications to my technique, but not had the time to unpack it. Initially, I did a 40-day "campaign" to explore and internalize these changes, and now as summer has progressed (and gigs are still cancelled) I've been letting the stuff soak in and become the new normal. It has been very transformative and fruitful.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
I've been blessed with many, many incredible teachers, and many life-changing pieces of advice, but one that sticks out came from a great flamenco guitarist named David Serva, whose wife Clara Chinoy happens to be a flamenco dancer from Western, MA. He once said to me "the hardest thing is to listen." There you go. That is one of those pieces of advice that seems simple, but for me at least, every time you think about it has more and more meaning.
Where can we find your work?