As a drummer, I've been a member of La Pena Cultural Center's Latin-jazz ensemble, under the direction of Josh Jones, since November 2003. I've also had the great privilege of sitting in on drums with Josh Jones' trio and sextet, and with Mascabeza. In the summer of 2008 I formed an instrumental Latin-jazz/salsa rehearsal band called Calle 49. Our first gig was August 2, a private party at Leland Tea Company in San Francisco. We're working on a number of tunes by various artists; check out Calle 49's MySpace page .

In the 1980s and '90s, I studied privately with Reed Vertelney, Chuck Silverman and David Garibaldi. Currently, I'm taking lessons from Josh Jones. Since 1991, I've played gigs in Southern and Northern California (and toured the Pacific Northwest) working with both original bands and cover bands playing a wide range of styles—rock, blues, funk, jazz, soul, R&B, Motown, reggae, etc. SF Bay Area bands that I've rehearsed and gigged with include Blind Lemon Phillips, Smitty and Danna Aliano. While in L.A., I played drums and percussion in numerous musical theater productions over a period of 10 years.

Going forward, I want to delve deeper into Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, straight-ahead jazz and funk—and anything else that is cool, soulful, enriching and fulfilling.