He is trumpeter and flugelhorn player born in
Brooklyn, New York, who took his musical education on a scholarship at the
Juilliard School of Music from the time he was seventeen.In 1980 he took on the role of "Mr.
Fabulous" in the movie The Blue Brothers and appeared in that same
role in the sequel in 1998.He
was also a member of the touring band with performers such as Steve Cropper
and Donald "Duck" Dunn.He was
appeared regularly on Saturday Night Live from the mid 1970s as the
original trumpeter with the house band as well as with Howard Shore &
His Band of Angels and the Blues Brothers. During the 1996 he made an appearance with the Late Night
Band and Paul Shaffer at the Olympic Games' Closing Ceremony.An extremely prolific
session musician for over four decades, the acts he has worked with during
the course of his busy career are innumerable but a few of them include Aerosmith,
The Alessi Brothers, Patti Austin, Gato Barbieri, Blood, Sweat & Tears,
Luiz Bonfa, James Brown, Felix Cavaliere, Eric Clapton, Stanley Clarke, Miles
Davis, Eumir Deodato, Dr. John, Donald Fagen, Georgie Fame, Maynard
Ferguson, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Gaynor, J. Geils Band, Rupert Holmes, Cissy
Houston, Peggy Lee, Lemon, Herbie Mann, The Manhattan Transfer, Meco, Matt "Guitar"
Murphy, Musique, Yoko Ono, Esther Phillips, Arthur Prysock, Lou Reed, The
Rolling Stones, Slave, Sting, Tina Turner, Bonnie Tyler, Jeff Tyzik, Michael
Zager and Frank Zappa.The countless
recordings he features on are far too numerous to mention but they include This
is Jazz, Vol. 9 by George Benson, Briefcase Full of Blues by The
Blues Brothers, Don't Stop the Music by The Brecker Brothers, Off
to See the Lizard by Jimmy Buffett (as a member of The Nuff Brothers), So
Close by Dina Carroll, Intimate Ellington by Duke Ellington, Stars
by Janis Ian, The Bridge by Billy Joel, King of Blues: 1989
by B.B. King, Morning Star by Hubert Laws, Shoogie Wanna Boogie
by David Matthews & Whirlwind, Dead Ringer by Meat Loaf, Am I
Not Your Girl? by Sinead O'Connor, Hello Big Man by Carly Simon,
Graceland by Paul Simon, L.A. is My Lady by Frank Sinatra, Never
Letting Go by Phoebe Snow, City Kids by Spyro Gyra, Ringo's
Rotogravure by Ringo Starr, Stuff It by Stuff, Walking Man
by James Taylor, Closeup by Frankie Valli, Forever, For Always,
For Love by Luther Vandross, All the Kings Horses by Grover
Washington Jr. and the soundtracks of Beat Street Vol. 2, The
Blues Brothers, Blues Brothers 2000, A Chorus Line, Footloose, The Great
Outdoors, The Warriors and The Wiz.
