He is trombonist, songwriter, composer and producer
nicknamed "Crimson Slide" born in Dublin, Georgia, and growing up in North
Carolina and the Philippines.When
he was a fifth grade student his family moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and
he took his studies for his music degree at the University of Alabama.For a 10-month period after
graduation he was a member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra but he left to get
his Master of Music degree in jazz performance at the Eastman School of
Music.Once he had gained his
degree he became a member of Woody Hermans Young Thundering Herd in the
latter half of the 1970s and toured nationally and internationally for the
next two and a half to three years before returning to Tuscaloosa for a
break.This would be a turning point as he
decided to take the plunge and move to New York City where he started
performing with The Nuff Brothers and, with them, also became a member of
the Blues Brothers Band in the first years of the 1990s, appearing in the
movie Blues Brothers 2000.It was with them that he was first called "Crimson Slide" by Alan
Rubin, probably of the University of Alabamas Crimson Tide.Working with many artists such as David
Byrne, Dr. John, Duke Ellington, Donald Fagen, Marianne Faithfull, Aretha
Franklin, David Grusin, The Manhattan Transfer, Anne Murray Aaron Neville and
Steve Tyrell, he has appeared on a vast number of recordings with a few of
them being albums that include Blues Brothers & Friends: Live from
the House of Blues by The Blues Brothers, Off To See The Lizard
by Jimmy Buffett, So Close by Dina Carroll, Whispers and Promises
by Earl Klugh, Am I Not Your Girl? By Sinead O'Connor, Contribution
by Mica Paris and the stage and movie soundtracks of A Chorus Line,
Family Thing, Hairspray, Mambo Kings and Shaft.Moving into the world of television
and movies he has been a soloist in films such as Third Degree Burn
and got his name known as a respected television composer with an Emmy Award
nomination five years running from 2001 to 2005 for music for the CBS
series The Guiding Light. He currently resides in New York City and continues his
work in composition, production and as a "first call" trombonist in the recording
studio.
Here he is on trombone with Woody Herman &
His Thunderin Herd performing "Fanfare for the Common Man". He
is the trombonist in the middle with short dark hair...