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As
a professional
musician,
composer,
arranger, and
educator, I
have devoted
my life to the
art of music,
especially 
jazz. It is
through music
that one is
able to listen
the heart and
soul of a
people and to
create a
common
consciousness.
My
love and passion
for music has
been with me
since childhood.
Born and raised
in Honolulu,
Hawaii, I
started taking
ukulele lessons
as a young
child. At age
11, inspired by
the innovative
and creative
style of Jimi
Hendrix, I
switched to the
guitar. After
listening to
Howard Roberts
and Jimmy Smith
in high school,
I became
fascinated with
the unique
harmonies of
jazz, and my
musical
direction was
forever altered.
I began to
seriously study
and play jazz,
first on the
guitar, and
later, on the
saxophone and
trumpet during
my college years
at UC Berkeley.
My instrumental
epiphany
occurred,
however, when I
was working on
my Master’s
Degree in
Composition at
CSU Hayward, and
I fell under the
spell of the
bass, captivated
by its endless
possibilities
and sounds. The
acoustic and
electric basses
are now my main
instruments. I
have since
studied bass
with Carl
Stanley, Brian
Marcus, Alex
Glickman, Frank
Tusa, Tim Spears
and electric
bassist Kai
Eckhardt. I am
currently a
student of
Richard Frazier.
My first solo CD
Learning
Curve
was released in
2003 to a
receptive
audience at
Yoshi’s Jazz
Club in Oakland,
California. I
released my
second solo CD New
Day
which premiered
at The Jazz
School in
Berkeley in
December 2006.
This highly
successful
concert was
recorded for
broadcast on
KCSM’s (91.1 FM)
Sunday
Night Series.
The CD also
received
significant
airplay on KCSM,
the Bay Area’s
premier jazz
station, KSDS
(Jazz 88) in San
Diego, and WGBH
(89.7 FM &
on-line) in
Boston. In 2015
I released my
3rd CD, Song
Without
Singing.
This CD has more
of a world music
flavor and
received a
number of very
positive reviews
(see the “Buzz”
page on this
website). CD
release concerts
were held at
Peace Lutheran,
the Sound Room,
and the
California Jazz
Conservatory.
The CJC concert
was video taped
by Lincoln Adler
(see excerpts on
the “Videos”
page of this
website) and was
broadcast on Jim
Bennett’s “In
the Moment"
show on KCSM
radio. We
received airplay
on many stations
including KRCC
Colorado, WKCR
New York, and
KUNV Las Vegas,
and as far away
as SouthAfrica,
reaching #70
on the Jazz
Week Jazz
Chart.
My 4th CD, Mood
Walk,
is being
released on June
5th, 2020 and
has already
garnered a
number of high
profile positive
reviews which
you can check
out (see the “Buzz”
page on this
website). This
CD features my
compositions,
performed by my
core band (see
personnel below)
plus some great
special guests.
Together with my
talented friend
Lincoln Adler we
put together “The
Making of Mood
Walk”
video which you
can view (see
the “Videos”
page on this
website). We had
a number of CD
release events
and interviews
planned to
coincide with
the release
which, because
of the Covid 19
situation, we
look forward to
rescheduling.
I am currently
the leader of The
Fred Randolph
Quintet (Fred
Randolph,
basses; Erik
Jekabson,
trumpet;
Sheldon Brown,
saxes; Dan
Zemelman,
piano; and
Greg
Wyser-Pratte,
drums)
and have
performed in
that capacity at
The California
Jazz
Conservatory,
The Sound Room,
The Empress
Theater, The
Impulse Room,
The Hillside
Club, Octavia
Lounge, Bistro
Yoffi, Anna’s
Jazz Island, and
Joe’s of
Lafayette.
Moreover, I
continue to
perform as a
bassist for many
of the Bay
Area’s finest
orchestras and
musicians,
including Maria
Muldaur, Dan
Hicks,
Contemporary
Jazz
Orchestra,
Collective
West Jazz
Orchestra,
Charged
Particles,
Sandy
Cressman’s
Homenagem
Brasileira,
Mads Tolling
and the
Madsmen,
Michael
Smolens’s
Kriya, Vince
Lateano, Fil
Lorenz Big
Band, Roberta
Donnay and the
Prohibition
Mob, Bobbe
Norris and
Larry Dunlap,
Kenny
Washington,
Gaea Schell,
Marcos Silva,
Silvestre
Martinez
Group, Branice
Mckenzie, Lisa
Torres,
Michael
O’Neill, Susan
Chen, Orquesta
Dharma, Ian
Carey Group,
Scotty Wright,
Dmitri
Methany, Barry
Finnerty,
Richard
Howell, Bob
Kenmotsu,
Steve Carter,
Ian Dogole,
Rana Farhan,
Calvin Keys,
Charged
Particles,
Paul
McCandless,
Melanie
O’Reilly,
Sheldon Brown
Trio, Al
Molina,
Melanthium,
Terrence
Brewer, Akira
Tana, Carla
Helmbrecht,
Frank Martin,
Diablo
Symphony, and
San Francisco
State
University
Symphony.
I have also
performed at the
World
Music Festival
in Shanghai,
Vallejo
Jazz Festival,
San Jose Jazz
Festival, and
Fillmore
Street Jazz
Festival, 7
Mile House
Jazz Festival,
and the Portola
Vinyard Jazz
Series.
I have always
had an interest
in film music
and recently my
composition “Ice
Nine” was used
as part of the
soundtrack to
The film “Love
Twice”
directed by Rob
Nilsson.
Rob and I then
collaborated on
the music for
his film “Fourth
Movement”
which not only
featured my
music as the
soundtrack but
also included a
scene of my band
performing the
composition “No
Agenda”. It was
really a thrill
to enter the
world of film
and I hope to be
doing more work
in this area.
Education
continues to be
an integral part
of my musical
life. I have
been honored to
serve as Director
of
Instrumental
Music at
Bishop O’Dowd
High School
in Oakland for
the past several
years. In
addition, I have
been teaching
courses in music
history at Berkeley
City College
as well as piano
classes at Contra
Costa College.
Previously I was
director of the
Downbeat
Award Winning
Groove
Merchants,
at Stanley
Middle School in
Lafayette.
Periodically, I
have given
courses in
Musical Notation
at The
California Jazz
Conservatory and
time permitting,
I enjoy private
teaching. I was
thrilled to have
my article “Chart
Notation: The
Essential
Toolkit”
published in
the July 2016
issue of
Downbeat
Magazine.
Throughout my
life, I have
found my musical
experiences to
be deep and
rewarding. I am
constantly
seeking to
refine and
expand my
knowledge as a
musician and,
hopefully, touch
somebody’s soul.
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