Biography

 




I really enjoy playing the bass guitar. Not only because of the register but the way it feels, the resonance, the strings, the buzz, the age of the wood and all of it's soul. I also fancy playing the piano, drums, guitar, and so on. It's true, I am a bass player first and foremost. Although composing, producing and creating any assemblage of sound or color has always been my reason for existing. I’ve been involved in the arts since I can remember and started winning awards when I was a teenager for my paintings, almost certain I was going to follow in my fathers footsteps and make my living as a graphic designer..


I have attended two music schools and graduated from one. I’ve performed, recorded or have been musically involved with a very wide variety of talented folks such as “Captain” Jack McDuff, Mason Jennings, Estaire Godinez, Willie Murphy, Simone Giulianni, Lazybatusu, Lister Rossel, Maia Lekow, Amber Monique, Slug(Atmosphere), Desdamona, Prez P, Clyde Stubblefield, Jonathan Tolliver and countless others as well as gaining international recognition along side John Keston as the dynamic duo Keston and Westdal. My performances have taken me everywhere from the Montreal Jazz Festival to First Avenue, Minneapolis. Music production has always been in my life as well and I’ve been involved in some fun projects for various companies over the years from Medtronic, Mercedes Benz to Sony Playstion. My futuristic Jazz-Fusion project ten72 has kept me going over the years and now Abalone Beauty is taking up most of my studio time while at home. 


Most recently I was involved in a project with producer Lister Rossel and singer, songwriter and film director Maia Lekow. There are a lot of gaps in this brief history and too many bands, projects and people that are not mentioned. Let’s just call this a temporary bio for now as every moment can lead to something new.


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A Good Vintage is a collection of pieces produced utilizing only bass guitar, mostly around 2010. This assemblage is a time capsule of discovery at a time when I was looking for a way to perform as a solo artist with live looping and multiple layers. These songs are almost like little practice pieces that explore a multitude of different soundscapes and genres. Shortly after this period of my life I lost all of these projects and was left with only quick mixdowns and partial compositions. Shelved for nearly ten years, I gave these tracks a listen and decided that maybe this stuff should be heard. In fact I had never even thought of releasing any of this until last month while sorting through old emails trying to find a document. I stumbled upon a note I had written to my wife from May 11th 2008 asking her what she thought of the track I had attached. I had discovered a mixdown that I had no recollection of… cool! It ended up being the appropriately titled, May Eleventh. So, after some ...
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Floating in a Sea of Clouds  is an Improvisational composition consisting of two ruminative movements utilizing appliances as the impetus. The first piece was created around the sound of my refrigerator after I spontaneously decided to record its warm and welcoming hum in the middle of the night. The second movement involves a cameo appearance by my aging Mac Pro. A sample that was ironically recorded while it was helping me produce the first movement. The idea is as simple as humming along with the vacuum cleaner or trying to match the pitch of a hairdryer. Something I think we all did as kids and hopefully most of us still do. Releases 11.12.2021       Happy Meditating!
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Sunhine Deluxe Golden Beats

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Yeah, another archival release from yours truly. This predates any of my ten72 or Keston and Westdal work. I had just finished working on a three year solo album project called "Clarification" that was never released when I started making these beats as sort of a more relaxing exercise. A desert after a long big healthy meal, if you will. I started listening to this little cluster of beats on my short commute to work. I realized that they made me smile. They sound so young and happy and so I decided that I should share this music. Here I am again cleaning up and mastering old art again that I thought was lost forever. I can't believe I thought all of this stuff was garbage when I created it. Now I'm finding myself absolutely cherishing it and digging for more. "Clarification" is my next release but this is a more serious one and I may call on Mr. Tom Garneau for a little mastering help. And I'm probably going to enlist someone else to do the art work. An...
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