As a little kid I was fascinated by the wild sounds coming out of the radio in the 50's. The wild abandon of Little Richard, Johnny Burnett, and, the revolutionary Elvis. I remember walking around the neighborhood singing, "Be Bop, Love you baby!" over and over. Back then I played the violin. I remember being admonished by a hot-shot classical conductor from NYC as he pointed his finger at me hissing, "I hope you don't like the saxophone!" I sheepishly shook my head but had my fingers crossed behind my back with the honking sax in "Red River Rock" blasting in my mind.

A lot has happened between then and now but my love of music has steadily continued. The truth is, I don't want to ever stop.  As one of my teaching assistants said to me, "Michael, if you ever stop playing music, you'll go crazy!". I know she's right.

Now, let me tell you about my band- The Sound. 

Man, are they good. 

Our rhythm section of Ishmael Ferguson on drums and Demont Crawford on bass and harmonies are part of The Wylde Bunch, an R&B, Rap, Rock band that includes 3 other members of the Crawford family. They have played with Musiq Soulchild, Eric Benet, Dwele, and Angie Stone among others. 

On keys, sax, and harmonies is Joe Turano, a triple threat who has played with Rickie Lee Jones, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Cher, Joe Cocker Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, George Benson, etc, etc. He toured with Michael Bolton for most of the 90’s and was Al Jarreau’s music director for 17 years during which time he co-produced “Al Jarreau and the Metrople Orketsra Live” which was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Jazz Vocal Album.”

Our horn section has Roch Bordenave  on trombone; his credits include Eddie Kendricks, Mel Torme, and David Ruffin. And Ryck Jane  on trumpet;  her credits include Beyonce Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show- Formation and she is the current solo trumpeter for The Chargers (football) and The Kings (hockey).

Nuff said!

Photographers: Joe Cantor and
Terri McIntosh