I grew up in Philly. In 1993 I moved to New Orleans. I studied music at The University of New Orleans in 1995 earning a Masters of Music in Jazz Performance. I toured throughout Austria and Italy in the summer of 1997 with the jazz quintet, Quintology, that went on to record the "Best new Jazz Album in New Orleans, 1999". I studied drums with the great Johnny Vidacovich. I performed in New Orleans with Astral Project, Quintology, The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, James Singleton and Ed Petersen and I regularly performed at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
In 2005 I was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and was relocated to Portland OR by the Portland Jazz Festival and other local businesses.
In December 2007 I toured through 5 countries in West Africa with a jazz quartet, Devin Phillips and New Orleans Straight Ahead, that came together in Portland from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. We were selected by Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, to act as cultural ambassadors of the United States under the auspices of The U.S. State Department.
I'm a founding member of The Kora Band, a West African influenced Jazz ensemble. The group’s 2010 album “Cascades” (OA2 Records) won Earshot Jazz’s award for “Northwest Jazz Album of the Year” and peaked at #12 on the U.S. World Music radio charts. In 2012, The Kora Band was awarded a prestigious Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant for the commissioning and recording of a new concert length work. The resulting album, “New Cities” was released in the Fall of 2015 on Whirlwind Recordings.
In 2015 I began recording and producing young artists, composing music for video and film and doing music supervision and sound design for podcasts. I’ve worked with Fiumi Studios as a music supervisor, sound designer and composer. I am an artist at the boutique music agency, Soda Box Music.
I recently released an EP with Italian singer/songwriter David Iozzi as well as a full length release with his band. We are the electronic music duo Coriandoli Elettronici and the group Coriandoli di Neve.
I am currently living in Florence, Italy.