I maintain that it's the quietest and most intimate moments that have the biggest impact on us. When I was very young, I was captivated one night by a lounge pianist providing background music, and thus was I set on the path. Twenty-five years, several instruments, just as many states and two degrees later, here we are.

While I was born in Atlanta, automotive finance prompted my family to move all over the country. From Swarthmore to Reston to Bowie to Pittsburgh and Philly to Charlotte to Aliso Viejo and finally Iowa City, I've lived in a wide variety of places. My musical experience has been equally eclectic, and while piano has been a mainstay, I picked up clarinet in elementary, and as an undergraduate at Morehouse College (returning to Atlanta), I picked up other instruments. While there, I joined the Xi Eta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, played clarinet as concertmaster, played trombone in the House of Funk Marching Band,  served as our jazz pianist, and played both piano and bass in the Afro Pop Ensemble, which I also served as student director of. From arranging to composing to leading rehearsals, I had many of the formative experiences that let me become the musician I am now--and at the end of it all, I got my Bachelor's in Piano & Clarinet Performance.

After graduating from Morehouse, I attended the University of Iowa for my Master's in Jazz Studies. That two years proved to be a valuable time for me, as I made new friends,  musical connections, and had the fortune and privilege of making some of the best music of my life. I also got to perform with a number of significant local artists, including Damani Philips, Blake Shaw, and the NOLA Jazz Band. It was here that I wrote, recorded and released Project: The REAL NEW, my debut album and the purest musical expression of me I ever got to release. I also met my fiance and current life partner, Katie Chalstrom, whose aspirations for a Master's prompted me to travel to Tucson, AZ, where I live now.

In my adult professional life, I've had a wealth of new experiences. I've composed, recorded, and produced for my own projects and miscellaneous compositions, I've transcribed everything from Earth, Wind and Fire to traditional West African folk music, I'm currently teaching private lessons at the Artistry Academy, I picked up organ for churches (I currently play at the Rising Star Baptist Church), I frequent local joints like the Century Room and the Chicago Bar, I play with local and regional bands like Kiko Jacome & the Trio,  Zona Libre, and the Lucky Devils Band, and I have the privilege of performing with all manner of both local and touring artists. And holy hell, what a ride it's all been. Jazz, rock, pop, gospel, soul, neo-soul, hip hop, salsa, cumbia, lo-fi, Afrobeat; my degrees may be in Jazz and Classical, but I love it ALL, I'm fortunate enough to get to PLAY it all. I've even gotten to lead a few of my own shows with my very own genre-bending band, Team Real New.

The only thing rivaling my love of music is my love of video games. I collect everything from Atari up to the modern day, and I aspire to write music for video games, effectively synthesizing my two great loves. To that end, I host a web show that primarily focuses on the unique and effective ways in which music composition and sound design work in video games, as well as the legitimacy of games as a medium for artistic expression. 3 AM Soliloquies, well as its less involved talk-based partner series, Unsolicited Cognitions, is available to everyone to watch on YouTube. 

COVID may have put a damper on my growing career as an artist, but I'm still very focused on my own projects, videos, and outside requests from my humble home setup, all of which will be released virtually for anyone and everyone to enjoy. There's been a bit of a readjustment period, but now, I'm ready to release new content, so check me out regularly! If your interest is piqued for arranging, transcribing or composing, please contact me via the tab! I'll be glad to hear from you.