He is a saxophonist, composer, arranger and singer born in Fort Myers, Florida, who began his professional career in music in Austin, Texas, when he performed with Stevie Ray Vaughan in Paul Ray & The Cobras.
At the same time he could also be seen at the Antones Blues Club and in 1986 he made the decision to move to Los Angeles where he became a sought after touring and session musician. He has since been heard performing with Hank Ballard, The Band, The Blues Brothers, Bono, Eric Burden, Solomon Burke, Tracy Chapman, The Crickets, Dr. John, Macy Gray, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Little Feat, John Mayall, Memphis Slim, Bette Midler, Maria Muldaur, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Rivers, Percy Sledge, Dionne Warwick, Bruce Willis and Weird Al Yankovic naming just a few.
His album count is enormous but a few of them include Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads by Jimmy Buffett, Best of… by Jools Holland, Deuces Wild by B.B. King, Bridges to Babylon by The Rolling Stones, Dancing the Blues by Taj Mahal and Sweet Warrior by Richard Thompson. In the movies his work as a musician features on Be Cool, Indecent Proposal, One Night Stand, Outside Ozona, Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, A Smile Like Yours and That Thing You Do! And as a composer he has written the music for Black Day Blue Night and Shadowhunter.
In recent years he has toured and performed with Taj Mahal and his Phantom Blues Band, winning a W.C. Handy Award in 2000 and a Grammy Award in 2004 for his work with them. A co-founder of the duo Texicali Horns with Darrell Leonard, they released their first CD in 2008.
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