My Story:

I began playing percussion in jazz band at Eastmoor Middle School under the direction of Stan Gilliland.  I was really enthusiastic about playing percussion after hearing a tune from a Detroit artist named Dennis Coffey that featured a conga solo I really liked.  Later on I discovered the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Center for African studies where I met master drummer Tony West.  The Dunbar center was located in the old Boys Academy building on Nelson Road just south of Broad St.  The Dunbar center burned down many years ago and the Academy recreation center is there now.  Playing with Tony, I was introduced to the art of playing for dancers.  Leeland Johnson’s Modern dance group rehearsed there along with Playwright and choreographer Nkosi.  It certainly was an education.

Playing there I was also introduced to Ron Coleman. He is the best bebop conga player of all the conga drummers I have seen.  Playing with Tony, I performed for the Pittsburgh Contemporary Dance Company, the Uhuru Dancers, Tony’s own group called Imani, and many others. As I got a little older,  I wanted to play with some of the R&B bands and jazz bands around town.  My father was kind of strict so I would have to sneak out and go to the jam sessions. There was the Oasis lounge on the corner of Mt Vernon and 20^th, the Taj Mahal on Allegheny, the Good Times lounge on the corner of Long and Spring, and My Brothers place on Long St. The more “mature” readers will remember the scene at Brothers. There was a bar on the first floor and a narrow staircase that led to the 2^nd floor (firetrap!)  That’s where the magic happened!  The stage was incredibly small and there was a room off to the side that was always dark where lots of borderline illegal activity would take place.  Bobby Floyd was a regular there as well as King Author and the knights, The Governor, and many others.  Folks will remember The Canabar lounge and the Macon.  The Stardust lounge, (Now the Dream Lounge) holds a lot of memories for me. In the 80’s I played there regularly with my good friend Robert Beasley. There were some great jam sessions there led by Alvin Valentine. Alvin would sing a song titled “Stoop down baby” It would bring down the house!

I was very fortunate to play with some of the great jazz talent around town.  There was Ron Clark, Harvey Alston, Darryl Redmond, Billy Brown, New York (aka Murph) (may they Rest in peace) Gene Walker, Uncle Dave Hammond, Yogi Cowen, Jeanette Williams, Ronnie Taylor, Jimmy McGee (The old one), Harold (the guitar man) Smith, and many others.  Back in those days the hot bands were the Associated Press, The Buckeye Politicians (They just released a CD), The Seeds of Fulfillment with Jeanette Williams, the TNT flashers, Delbert Payne and Crowd Pleasers, Wee, and the Four Mints (they are still performing.)  I was able to sit in with some of these bands.  One of the other guys I really admired was Steve (Paco) Grier.  He has a really aggressive style of playing.  In the '70s he was in a group with Tom Panell, they were incredible.

I joined the Army right out of high school. I found myself stationed in fort Polk la. It was terrible.  I hooked up with the 5^th infantry Division Band. Most of the guys were jazz musicians who did a lot of playing after hours.  We formed some bands that played in and around Louisiana and Texas.

After I got out of the service, I landed a job at the Hyatt Regency as a busboy.  I played in a band called Unity with the Hampton brothers Mark and Chucky. I was surprised to find out that they had an aunt who I had knew for years as the pianist that played in my grandmothers church. Tia Roseborough sang with us. It was a great band.  I remember opening for Phyllis Hymen and Pieces Of A Dream. After about the second year at the Hyatt I rented a house in the Shepherd community. Across the street there was a guy who we hung out with quite a lot. He would tell us stories about his career in the music business. At first we really didn't believe him. That’s when I found out that he was the lead singer in a band called the Vancouver’s. I checked it out and it was really true. One day I was on my way to work and he said some friends of his needed to be picked up at the airport. He did not have a car. He talked my roommate in to giving him a ride. I went ahead and went to work. When my friend finally got to work he told me that Bobby’s friends were the Temptations.  I agreed to do some recording with him, as he was starting to work on a TV deal to get himself back in the good graces of showbiz.  It seemed that he had gotten himself into a disagreement with the management at Motown and was given the bums rush. I never heard from him after that. I hope that he is well.

I would pursue any kind of lead that I thought would get me playing.  I chanced upon a singing group called the Timeless Legend. I was part of the back up band. They had a record deal with an independent label. They were the hot act around town; they would open for all the top 40 acts that came through Columbus. I got to meet members of the Gap band, Confunkshun, Frankie Beverly and Maize, The Sugar Hill gang, Kleer, and a bunch of other bands.  A bass player  joined  the band a little while after I was in it. His name is Foley.

I needed to expand my opportunities to work so I hooked up with a poet by the name of Is Said.  I think it was he who got me interested in doing an educational component in the school system. Is Said would mix drumming, dance and poetry, it was great.

I also had the opportunity to be an artist in residence at Dennison University with Mr. Beasley. We would drive up to Granville 3 times a week and play for a couple of hours for the dancers.  A couple of times we would go to sleep during class and wake up playing drums, I will never forget that time in my life.  While working With Mr. Beasley  (check out my boy at silhouettevoyeur@yahoo.com), I had an opportunity to work at Balletmet as a drummer for some of the Dunham classes taught by April Berry.  It was a chance for me to provide music for a world class instructor, I would get other chances later…

I lived down the street from the Funderburgs, Ron and Pat.  Ron is a drummer and Pat is a fitness instructor.  Pat started a group called Afro rhythms, which I played with for years. Through Ron I was hooked up with the Short Stop teen center.  I guess it was the summer of 1994 or '95.  Partners in conservation, a program at the Columbus zoo, was looking for entertainment for a fund raiser to benefit Rwandan orphanages and The Short Stop Drum ensemble was formed.  Jackie Calderone was instrumental in writing the grants to get the equipment we needed to start the program.  We have been performing ever since - now as the Short Stop Drum and dance ensemble

I have worked and performed with thousands of children over the years. I still book and work with children as director of the ensemble. While working with the Short Stop I got a wonderful opportunity to work with Los Munus quntos . They were touring the US and agreed to do an all-day workshop with the Short Stop Teen Center (thanks to Jackie Calderone.)  It was great. After the workshop we all went to the Columbus music hall to play with Yumbambe.

 Acknowledgements:

• First and foremost, The Creator

• My Ancestors, my brothers and sisters in the family of Artists

• And to the ones that did not believe.