Born in Harlem,
my love of music received added nurturing at 409 Edgecomb Avenue,
a hot address during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. It was here
my great uncle Carroll Boyd, a sought-after cocktail pianist, played
while my godmother Aunt Ruth, and my grandmother "Mamanette" sang
while accompanying a routine Sunday gathering of some of Harlem's
illustrious elite performers such as Ram Ramirez, Johnny Hartman and
Caterina Jarboro to name a few.
My formal study
of the bass began in high school. I studied two and half years with
New York studio bass player Ed Lord. I went on to receive a dual degree
in Music with Henry Brant and Gunter Shonbeck and Black Music with
Bill Dixon, Milford Graves and Jeff Hoyer from Bennington College,
Vermont. Continuing my training, I studied Western Harmony at Columbia
University. I've recently taken two daylong eight-hour master classes
with Victor Wooten; a daylong master class with Otell Burbidge; and
a mourning master class with Michel Manring at The Bass Collective
in NYC. Privately, I have an ever-expanding collection of books and
recordings, which are part of my daily practice.
I've had the good
fortune to play many styles of music extensively. These varieties
of first-hand exposures to music legends; formal training in musical
traditions; and many years of bandstand experience, which is of utmost
importance to a musician, remain invaluable to me as a performer and
a teacher.