About Me
I was born in a small desert town in Southern California and grew up watching my father practice piano and paint in his art studio. At the age of 6, I began taking piano lessons, and at the age of 9, I started playing the saxophone. I remember looking up a YouTube video on putting the instrument together on my first day, and quickly developed a fascination with the instrument and fell deep down the YouTube saxophone rabbit hole. I was very fortunate to attend Idyllwild Arts High School, where I was mentored by Paul Carman (Frank Zappa) and Marshall Hawkins (Miles Davis, Shirley Horn). They opened my eyes to what jazz and improvisation is. In 2019 I moved from California to the Netherlands to study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In 2023 I obtained a BA in Jazz Studies. Currently, I lead my own bands and remain an active part of Amsterdam's thriving jazz scene.