IT’S EASY TO KNOCK THE CURRENT LOS ANGELES JAZZ SCENE.
AT ONE TIME, THE CITY BOASTED OF A PLETHORA OF CLUBS ALL THE WAY FROM MALIBU TO REDONDO BEACH; NOW THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL.
YET THIS DOESN”T MEAN THAT THERE ARE NO FRESH IDEAS PERCOLATING FROM JAZZ MUSICIANS IN TOWN; YOU JUST HAVE TO BE ABLE TO BE A BIT CREATIVE AND WORK HARD..
ONE OF THE BUSIEST GUYS IN TOWN IS JEFF BABKO.
BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WORK AS KEYBOARDIST ON THE JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW, BABKO HAS MADE A CAREER WORKING IN A VARIETY OF SETTINGS, SUCH AS WITH MARTIN SHORT’S SHOW, AS WELL AS PLAYING ON VARIOUS TOURS INCLUDING HIS EARLY YEARS WITH JULIO IGLESIAS, AND CAN BE SEEN IN LOCAL CLUBS AS A SIDEMAN FOR THE LIKES OF LARRY CARLTON, STEVE GADD OR STEVE LUKATHER.
HE’S ALSO A PRESENCE WITH HIS OWN BANDS, HAVING RELEASED A COUPLE OF ALBUMS RECENTLY. A DUET WITH DAVE PILTCH WAS RECORDED IN PASO ROBLES, AND A TRIO GIG WITH TIM LEFEBVRE AND MARK GUILIANA (CLAM CITY) WAS CAPTURED AT LA’S SAM FIRST CLUB.
HAVING GROWN UP IN LA, BABKO HAS A SPECIAL FEEL FOR THE CITY, NOT ONLY MUSICALLY, BUT SOCIALLY. HIS AWARENESS OF HIS PLACE AS AN ARTIST IS WELL REFLECTED IN THIS RECENT CHAT WE HAD WITH HIM. AS EXPECTED, HIS ANSWERS, LIKE HIS MUSIC, WAS CLEVER AND INSIGHTFUL
WITH A NICE DAYTIME GIG, YOU DON’T “NEED” TO, BUT YOU ACTIVELY SUPPORT THE LOCAL JAZZ SCENE BY PLAYING AT THE CLUBS LIKE SAM FIRST, CATALINA’S AND THE BAKED POTATO
I used to go to Catalina’s at the old location
I don’t know if “support” is a fair word, Where else was I going to see Tony Williams, McCoy Tyner, Benny Green and countless others.
I did go to Dontes, which was not far from home, as well as The Money Tree. I didn’t miss all of it.
I remember going there In high school, save up all the money I had and order two Coca Colas. The fifteen bucks and two Cokes were quite and investment. The Baked Potato was a big part of my life, too.
I saw Shirley Horn at Vine Street Bar and Grill. Also Kevin Eubanks. It’s not really “supporting” jazz, but getting nutrients from jazz. I have to go digest some live music to get my vitamins.
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“I have to go digest some live music to get my vitamins”
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YOU PLAY PIANO, KEYBOARDS AND TROMBONE. YOUR DUET ALBUM WITH PILCH (THE LIBRETTO SHOW) IS BEAUTIFUL. YOU HAVE A PERSONAL SOUND ON PIANO, BUT HOW DO YOU GET ONE ON THE ELECTRIC KEYBOARDS?
For me, the Fender Rhodes is an instrument unto itself, much like the piano
I obviously took piano lessons before taking up the Fender Rhodes, but the Fender Rhodes was very early in my life, since high school where we always had one in the big band. They wouldn’t have piano at the competitions, but they’d have the Fender Rhodes. It was just an alternative to the piano
When I realized that all of these records and players that I loved were Fender Rhodes players, Victor Feldman, Claire Fischer, Herbie Hancock and George Duke, I knew that it was a voice I wanted.
I got my first Fender Rhodes in the 80s, because everyone wanted a DX-7; you could get one from The Recycler (the newspaper version of Facebook ads) for $100. So I did! The Fender Rhodes is part of my voice; I feel really close to that instrument
As far as synthesizers, my piano teacher David Reutstein who runs the Cal Arts program, put a Prophet synthesizer in front of me and showed me what all of the knobs did
During this time in the early 80s, New Wave and synthesizer music were a big deal. As a keyboard player, It was harmonically and sonically interesting because it was all new and exciting
Growing up in the Santa Clarita Valley, which was about as far from the sounds of Berlin or London as you could be, but I felt I was entering a portal into another world. Not only sonically, but I felt it transported me to this kind of music that was so far away.
So the Fender Rhodes always felt like it was something from within and personal. It was not something outside, but what was in my head.
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“As a keyboard player, It was harmonically and sonically interesting because it was all new and exciting…I felt I was entering a portal into another world. Not only sonically, but I felt it transported me to this kind of music that was so far away”
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WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE TROMBONE?
I got to Middle School, and wanted to be in the marching band. I saw a trombone in the ***garage. My father’s mother had played the trombone, and my dad plays the trombone, so I don’t remember there being an option (laughs)
I remember just being handed that brown trombone case and was told “this is what you will play”
My dad, who is a retired music teacher, recognized that because I had been playing piano for so long, and was learning by ear, realized that playing the trombone would be good for my pitch, as the trombone doesn’t have keys or frets
It’s always been a kind of afterthought in my life, but I do session work on trombone. I’m
I love it. But it’s really the red-headed stepchild of my musical arsenal.
It’s fun to visit. The fact that Steve Gadd always wants me to play it is funny. I was always a big Crusaders fan, so if I can pay those guys like Wayne Henderson and Fred Wesley honor, I’m happy. I’ll never have the chops of a Frank Rosolino, but I love to listen to them.
My wheelhouse is more Fred Wesly/Wayne Henderson soul, that part of the register.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR EARLY YEARS TOURING WITH JULIO IGLESIAS?
I was right out of college, and with my best friends we all got the gig through different ways.
I learned a lot about different cultures. I travelled the world with him and my friends. It was like a television show that lasted four seasons. It then went off the air, and they tried to re-boot it with “The Grown Up Years”.
Take the same cast of characters, and put them out into the world. We were in Spain for a long time, and the rest of Europe, Brazil, Asia and The States.
I learned a lot working. I thought at that point that I really wanted to be a jazz musician solely at that point, just out of jazz school in college
I had an 8 bar solo on “Oye Como Va” for Julio Iglesias, and I’m side-stepping like McCoy Tyner, which was a bad idea. (laughs) it was ill-advised: me trying to squeeze jazz into an international pop gig. That was not wise, and I learned that.
I learned how to play in the pocket. We had an incredible percussionist Rafael Padilla. His time was so incredibly perfect in that a lot of what I was doing trying to get my time together and locking in with his shaker, which was more than enough grad school for me.
I learned how to play parts, play them well, and play them in time. A lot of discipline!
I didn’t have a lot of discipline as far as living my life at the time(laughs), but I did learn the discipline of playing as far as what is appropriate for each genre, something I still haven’t completely learned yet! (laughs).
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“trying to squeeze jazz into an international pop gig…was not wise, and I learned that”
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WHAT DID YOU GLEAN FROM ROBBEN FORD, AND DID YOU PLAY TROMBONE WITH HIM?
I did not play trombone with him on the live gig. It was just B3 and Wurlitzer with a little piano on some recordings.
I’m such a fan of his playing. We did some long Europe runs in varying degrees of venues. You get a blues festival, one night you’re at the Montreux jazz festival, and then you’re wedged into a sweaty little club in Luxembourg
I’ve heard Robben play blues and jazz; I love the way he plays the changes. But I’ve heard him channel something from Beyond…
We had this song called “Hey, Brother” that was a two chord vamp, and he was channeling John Coltrane. He was going into these endless lines form some other place.
I remember seeing him go into this zone of endless ideas, so what I brought back from Robben **was inspiration. It was a connection with some Higher Power through his instrument.
He was one with his instrument; that was always inspiring to me
HOW WAS PLAYING WITH LARRY CARLTON DIFFERENT THAN PLAYING WITH FORD?
You would think that it would be similar, and in some ways it is. Robben and Larry have known each other for a along time. When Robben came to town and Larry was on the top of the guitar mountain, Robben was an inspiration to Larry, being new blood and coming from the same places like jazz and blues. That connective tissue
I was inspired by both at a young age; I was inspired by a lot of instruments that were not the piano. Growing up near LA, both of those voices were important to me. Tom Scott and the LA Express had Robben, and one of the first albums I heard was The Crusaders’ Southern Comfort, and Larry was on that. We spun that one a lot. These voices were familiar to me.
I can’t discount the fact that both of them were white guys in primarily black bands, which was always something interesting to me. There’s no judgment attached to it; it was just a fact. Why were these guys anointed to play in these bands? It was culturally and musically exciting.
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“I was inspired by both (Larry Carlton and Robben Ford) at a young age; I was inspired by a lot of instruments that were not the piano. Growing up near LA, both of those voices were important to me”
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WHEN YOU PLAY WITH GADD, CARLTON AND FORD, ARE YOU GIVEN SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT TO DO, OR DO THEY JUST SAY “GO FOR IT”?
They give instructions
For Larry, it’s pretty much The Book. You play the parts. When I played with Larry and Robben together, we came up with a book together where we could each carve out our role
In Gadd’s band, I wasn’t the first to play that role. There is a book and framework that exists and that you adhere to. Gadd is very specific about what he likes and what he doesn’t like. Because of that, things feel amazing; the feel is not accidental. It’s based on his lifetime of discovering of where things sit that make him play at his best
My job in that band is to put the groove in a place that makes him shine and be the Steve Gadd that we all want to hear. It’s really a “feel” thing, my job is to get him to where he’s sitting comfortably, rise up and be able to do the Steve Gadd stuff that we love
Growing up and listening to Richard Tee play on the Fender Rhodes, piano and B3 on all of those records with Gadd, I want to pay tribute to that, so I feel it’s a lofty task and an honor to get to do that with Steve. I study a lot of where Richard puts it, what accents he comes up with most often. It sounds like it’s scientific, but it’s simply collecting data and algorhythms. Where does Richard put it here?, which causes Steve to hit his high hat and kick drum to do things differently. I do a lot of studying beforehand, listening to what Larry Goldings Kevin Hays have done before I’m ready.
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“the feel is not accidental. It’s based on his lifetime of discovering of where things sit that make him play at his best”
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There’s nothing incidental or accidental with Steve. He’s a great band leader in that he is direct with what he likes and doesn’t like. That makes it easier for us band members. Sometimes you have to chase something if it’s not natural to you, but I appreciate strong and definite band leading. I don’t have to go on this endless hunt
DID YOU EVER HAVE A GIG OR RECORDING THAT YOU FELT THAT YOU WERE OVER YOUR HEAD?
Absolutely.
A lot of the film work that I do
Some of it is very loose and interpretive, to where we’re almost improvising in a scene. That’s what I was doing when I was a kid and watching TV, scoring my own shows for fun. (laughs)
But, with a full score, being on the floor with a full orchestra, I feel every pore filled with sweat. There’s only one way to play it. You have a full orchestra with a giant sound stage, a director and a full crew. Sometimes they’ll say, “Piano, let’s solo that” in front of a full orchestra and there’s only one way to play it
It’s a fun high wire act, but classical musicians that live in that world for that. They live for ***playing the notes perfectly. I live for coloring outside of the lines a little bit. That’s what excites me
Those are the most daunting gigs for me.
As far as jazz gigs, I played with Mike Keneally a little bit back in the 90s. It’s very Zappa-esque music. A couple of the more challenging jazz gigs that is more cerebral would be with my friend Dan Rosenbloom, who writes really hard music. I might ask him why it was written in 5 ½ and he would explain it, and I’d say “Cool”. (laughs) I would have written it differently since I’m going to play it.
I don’t know how to feel during some of the more cerebral-leaning jazz, and I think I’m able to shine best when I can find a place to feel something. I went to a college partly because there where no math requirement. (laughs)
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“I don’t know how to feel during some of the more cerebral-leaning jazz, and I think I’m able to shine best when I can find a place to feel something. I went to a college partly because there where no math requirement”
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WHEN YOU HEAR YOUR MUSIC ON MOVIES LIKE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN OR FROZEN, DOES IT MAKE SENSE WHEN YOU SEE WHERE IT FITS INTO THE MOVE
40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN WAS ONE OF THE ONES WHERE IT WAS MY BUDDY LYLE WORKMAN’S FIRST FILM SCORE
40 Year Old Virgin was where it was my buddy Lyle Workman’s first solo film score. I was hired by Lyle, but we’re friends, so we’re really trying to find the tone of the movie, as it was Judd Apalow’s first film. It was also Steve Carell’s first leading role.
We were creating a new space.
Nobody expected the movie to be such a big hit.
To go back and listen to it-there were scenes in it where we just didn’t know what to do; what does this face by Carey mean musically? But when I saw the film, it did connect.
As bawdy a movie as it was, there is a heart to it, and we were able to tap into that
For the Frozens and Toy Stories and all of those, they were very strictly written. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t connect, but in the piano heavy or sensitive piano solo where the character is going through something emotional, it’s still really weird to hear myself in the movie.
I feel the same way playing with Steve Gadd, or Toto. These were my heroes. When I not paying attention in math class, I would write on my book cover dream bands that I would be forming. So, all of those gigs are really out of body, bananas.
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“(classical musicians) live for playing the notes perfectly. I live for coloring outside of the lines a little bit. That’s what excites me”
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WHAT PART OF YOUR BRAIN IS INVOLVED WITH THE JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW?
Growing up, another obsession I had was Late Night With David Letterman the old NBC show and Saturday Night Live, as well as all of the comedies and actors that came out of the Airplane! franchises
I would video tape all of those things, and study them
Comedy informed my personality, but I didn’t know that I was studying for a career in it. I guess inadvertently was.
When those two worlds of music and comedy became an opportunity to be a career path, it was pretty natural
I studied the rhythm of comedy on television, talk shows and the walk ons, even to the point of watching the Doc Severinson band rehearse in Burbank. I knew that it was a real world.
I can’t discount (composer)Paul Shaffer’s influence on me (Shafer is associated with movies and shows such as This is Spinal Tap, Scrooged, and Late Night With David Letterman). His comic timing ,banter and his playing on David Letterman was, to me, what a New York band in 1982 was supposed to sound like.
I really studied his B3 and piano playing
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“You are only in control of your side of the court”
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So, I really feel like that I’m paying back to what I grew up with, and taking it to the next generation. We draw a lot from that Letterman/Shafer template, even though comedy and the references have changed
I have to be willing to just jump in with musical ideas based on a lifetime of studying the comedy genre. I get it. It’s studying, but not homework studying. I study because it’s what I’m passionate about.
I do a deep dive into what I’m interested in and make it part of my living. We’ve got the learning out of the way; we’re just learning how to make it great.
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“Comedy informed my personality, but I didn’t know that I was studying for a career in it”
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THERE IS THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIVE JAZZ AND LIVE COMEDY
Absolutely
I’ve been with (comedian) Martin Short for 24 years, and he always asks “Why do all the musicians watch SCTV on the tour bus?” It’s the same thing; it’s just through a different medium
We both connect with that playfulness and improvisation. Playing with convention, bending it and winking at it. It’s what we both do and live for.
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“I’ve been with (comedian) Martin Short for 24 years, and he always asks “Why do all the musicians watch SCTV on the tour bus?” It’s the same thing; it’s just through a different medium”
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IT COMES OUT IN BOTH YOUR ALBUMS CLAM CITY AND HUDSON CITY
CLAM CITY is because the three of us (Tim Lefebvre and Mark Guiliana) get along so well. What I love about it is that when Sam First asked me to put a gig together, I don’t just take a gig and say “I’ll just throw a band together and play tunes”.
I don’t have time to do that. I’ve got three jobs going at once. I ask myself “Why am I doing a gig? Why am I leaving my family on a Friday night?” and take a more lucrative “JOB jobs?
I have to have an answer for that
So, if I’m going to do a gig, I want to write some tunes for it, or I just want to play with that personnel.
Sam First is asking me to lead a gig, so I have to figure out why I’m leading the gig
In this case, I took the gig because Mark and Tim said “Yes”.
We dd a quartet gig with Troy Ziegler, but it was all improvised
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“I do a deep dive into what I’m interested in and make it part of my living. We’ve got the learning out of the way; we’re just learning how to make it great”
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This time, I wanted to see if there was material, even if it was only one song a set and we went completely mental and came back to it. Whether it was one or fifteen songs, I wanted some musical markers. So, we made some landing pads
For the first gig, it worked really well.
When Sam First decided to record us, I knew what this trio could do.
We had never done a gig with the piano being the focal point, so we leaned into what this band could do as a piano trio. We were all excited about it, and you can hear us discovering what it is, and that sense of wonder, discovery and also the humor
Comradery is 100% represented on this record. When we go to dinner, or if we go to the gig, there is no difference. We are chatting and laughing at dinner, but at the gig we’re just not eating and speaking as much.
It’s amazing that we got it to tape, because it’s not usually captured.
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“Comradery is 100% represented on this record. When we go to dinner, or if we go to the gig, there is no difference. We are chatting and laughing at dinner, but at the gig we’re just not eating and speaking as much”
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IS THE ALBUM CALLED CLAM CITY BECAUSE OF THE “WRONG” NOTES BEING PLAYED AT TIMES?
(laughs). Yes, it’s a reference to that. I’m not sure why it’s called that except that it makes me **laugh, and yet it seems like a celebration of wrong notes
In this band, there is no such thing as wrong notes; we will lean into them
What’s wrong and what’s right? The intention is all comradery, love, humor and joy, so they can all be clams as far as I’m concerned. Everyone in “Clam City” is a clam!
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“We were all excited about it, and you can hear us discovering what it is, and that sense of wonder, discovery and also the humor”
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WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU?
My tennis teacher, Nels Van Patten, used to tell me “On your best day, you may have your best game, but you may lose because your opponent had a better game. It has nothing to do with ***your performance. You are only in control of your side of the court”
WHAT DO YOU LISTEN FOR IN A KEYBOARD PLAYER, AND DO YOU HAVE A PET PEEVE?
The older I get, the more pet peeves I have! (laughs) I have a whole collection of them, but I also release a lot of them-“why do I care so much about that?”
I look for depth
There are a lot of keyboard players that
We practice our scales and classical pieces; we practice alone for a long time in our lives. We play in our living room, or our parents living room
I feel a lot of piano players bring that to a band setting, and forget about role playing. Your role is to stay out of the way, and to play simple chords on certain accents, and serve the band,
So, a lot of my pet peeves are when they are skating around being a pianist and not being a role player.
It’s like a basketball team. The greatest solo basketball player is not necessarily the greatest team player
A lot of the great classical soloists are not great in an orchestra. I hear it in any genre, jazz, rock, pop, R&B or classical. They’re skating around, they may be adept at the instrument, but there’s still a “why” factor.
I don’t want to ask “why”; I want to feel it immediately. Sometimes I’m listening to a player that doesn’t know why. They’re just doing.
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“Your role is to stay out of the way, and to play simple chords on certain accents, and serve the band”
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WHAT MUSICIAN , LIVING OR DEAD, WOULD YOU PAY $1000 TO SEE PERFORM?
Lots.
I saw Miles before he died, so I’m happy about that. As far as heroes and band leaders, he’s on the top of the mountain 3738
I would have loved to have seen James Booker play in New Orleans.
I’d pay that to see Art Tatum, but if I saw him play I’d just stop playing the piano.
ANYONE IN WORLD HISTORY YOU’D LIKE TO SIT DOWN FOR AN EVENING AND PICK THEIR BRAIN
I get made fun of for my comedy tour with Steve Martin and Martin Shore, because I’m only reading about music. They ask me if there’s anything I read about besides music; I’m such a music nerd.
After thinking of all of the times that I’ve loaded my gear after a gig at one on the morning, behind the club, not thinking twice about it, and talking to my friends of color who for them it would not be safe. People would look at them as if they were stealing something; that never occurred to me.
So, I would love to talk to civil rights leaders and learn more about what I don’t know
We only have the upbringing that we have, and without education I can’t have that experience. I
need to know more about it.
Whether it is Martin Luther King or John Lewis, I would love to sit down, and rather than read about it, I’d like to be helped in what I need to know about change and what I don’t know
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“if I saw (Art Tatum) play I’d just stop playing the piano”
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DO YOU HAVE A PHILOSOPHY OR RELIGION THAT IS YOUR MORAL COMPASS?
Yes; it’s basically what serves the greater good. Am I doing my best in being of service to that?
WHO TAUGHT YOU THAT?
It’s not a “who”, but a “what”-about a trillion missteps! (laughs)
One of my best friends Victor Indrizzo always finds a kernel of direction every time I talk to him.
Martin Short is another one. He had a lot of loss early in life, with both his parents dying. A lot of what I learned from him is what to take seriously. He told me that because he lost so much at a young age, he was able to let a lot go. That’s a real life lesson, and that is hard for me.
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“they may be adept at the instrument, but there’s still a “why” factor. I don’t want to ask “why”; I want to feel it immediately. Sometimes I’m listening to a player that doesn’t know why. They’re just doing”
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ARE THERE ANY BOOKS THAT YOU’VE READ THAT YOU WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO READ?
One of my bosses, Steve Martin, has a book Born Standing Up, which is a great look into the brilliant mind of not just a comedian, but of a renaissance man. He does so many things well.
It’s a look into a flawed and brilliant individual that is doing his best. I’d say he’s one of the few geniuses he’s ever met
WHAT FUTURE GOALS DO YOU HAVE?
There was a time, not long ago, where it would have been
A lot of what I thought I needed when I was young was direction of my career and life as an artist.
I realized that the less investment or stress that I put into for as direction an artist, the more I grew as an artist
Now that I’m over 50 and my GPS says “You’ve arrived at your destination”. That’s a great feeling.
Most of the names that I wrote on my math book cover, who are still alive, I’ve been able to collaborate with and make music.
Now, it’s more “life” things. I find a lot of solace with my family just relaxing, especially in the Central Coast.
Being at peace and being of service to those around me
Life is pretty hectic juggling all of these jobs. I’m trying to be centered through it all. If I can find ***that center a little better, I’ll be better for those around me. I’m trying to be the best version of myself.
If everyone does a little bit of that, we’ll all be better off
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“the less investment of stress that I put into for as direction an artist, the more I grew as an artist .Now that I’m over 50 and my GPS says “You’ve arrived at your destination”. That’s a great feeling”
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WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SAY AT YOUR MEMORIAL SERVICE?
We’re presuming people will attend. (laughs)
My best days are when I’ve gone to a recording session or to Kimmel or a gig on the road, and I ***feel like my having been a part of it made someone’s day better. I’d like to know that my being with them was a positive force on their day.
That is a great day for me.
I WAKE UP EVERYDAY AND ASK GOD HOW I CAN BE A BLESSING TO
Gratitude and being a blessing to others seems basic, but it’s something we all need to be encouraged to do.
LIFE IS EASIER ONCE YOU REALIZE YOU’RE A JERK
Once I was on stage on a rock tour, and I said to myself “All of this posing and trying to look cool, is only showing that you’re really only a nerd”. At that point I realized, “I’m good with that” (laughs)
Why did I spend so much time trying not to be that? It’s fine!
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“Gratitude and being a blessing to others seems basic, but it’s something we all need to be encouraged to do”
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WHILE PUTTING THIS ARTICLE TOGETHER, I WENT BACK INTO MY CATALOGUE OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF CONCERTS THAT I’VE COVERED THAT I THOUGHT JEFF BABKO MIGHT HAVE BEEN A PART OF.
I WAS ASTONISHED TO SEE THE BACK OR SIDE OF HIS HEAD AND SHOULDERS IN SCORES OF PHOTOS OF GIGS AT SAM FIRST, THE BLUE WHALE, THE BAKED POTATO OR CATALINA’S. IT DAWNED ON ME THAT DOZENS OF THE SHOWS I’VE COVERED HAD THE LEADER CHOOSE BABKO AS THEIR KEYBOARDIST. AND, LIKE UMPIRES OF A BASEBALL GAME, THE BEST SIDEMEN ARE THE ONES YOU DON’T NOTICE; THEY’RE DOING THEIR JOB AND SERVING THE GREATER PURPOSE
THAT’S WHY JEFF BABKO IS IN HUNDREDS OF MY CONCERT PHOTOS. HE SERVES THE MUSIC UP FOR THE HEADLINERS, MAKING HIMSELF A SERVANT NOT ONLY TO THE LEADER, BUT ALSO TO THE LOCAL JAZZ FANS. THAT HAS WHAT HAS MADE FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE STUDIOS, AS WELL AS AT THE LOCAL VENUES. CHECK OUT HIS OWN ALBUMS AS A CO-LEADER, AND LOOK FOR HIS NAME ON THE CLUB LISTINGS, AS HIS TALENTS AND ATTITUDE HAVE GIVEN HIM KEYS TO THE CITY.