(Last Updated June. 9, 2008)

Hello All,

After about 24 hours of travel, everyone is home from the tour safe and sound. We got home yesterday and I think I slept about 12 hours last night. Man did THAT feel good.

The last leg of the tour was pretty brutal in terms of travel but fun. After our run at the Blue Note in Tokyo, we flew to Seoul, Korea. I was amazed once we got to Seoul at what a lovely city is was. The architecture was great and was very clean. The interesting thing that happened was that there was the demonstration against the FTA or Free Trade Agreement with the US importing US beef. When we got to the venue, the cops had just started to close down the streets but everything seemed very calm. The end result was that about the half the theater was empty during the show because nobody could actually get to the theater! The folks that were there however loved the show and were totally into it. That always makes it worth it, doesn't it? After the show, ALL of the streets were closed, so what took five minutes to get there took about 90 minutes to get back. There was never a point where we felt danger but I tell you I have never seen so many police in my life. Finally, we got to the hotel and passed out for out for our leave time of 6am the next morning to fly to Singapore.

Fast forward to the next day and we arrived in Singapore after a six hour flight and then got to the hotel. Since we had the night off, we decided to grab some grub and hit the town. Luckily, we had a driver for us that would take us anywhere we wanted. After dinner he took us to an area of bars and restaurants that was way cool. Needless to say I drank way too much and the result was a hangover of global proportions the next day. Let's face it, I am an idiot. You think I would learn after all of these years.

The next day the show went well and we once again went back to the hotel to ONCE AGAIN had a leave time of 6am for the airport. Both Korea and Singapore were great countries from what I could gather in 36 hours but I would say that some of the laws in Singapore ARE a bit harsh. If you ever saw the movie Midnight Express, that is a cakewalk compared to Singapore. The punishment for drugs? Death by hanging. Oh and let's not forget the caning that they do. Dip a cane in horse urine and refined, shattered glass and spank your butt with it. The result being is open cuts that take about two months to heal....Not my idea of a good time. I will say the country is incredibly clean and seems very safe. I will also say that in regards to their punishment against domestic abuse and rape towards women I completely agree. I always felt that women should have a safer environment in which to live in our country and perhaps if we adopted some of those laws and punishments, well maybe some things might improve.

At any rate, I am glad to be home and getting back to a somewhat normal life. I hope you enjoyed reading my travels. Thanks...

(Last Updated June. 3, 2008)

I have been going through this list for a couple of days now and trying to figure out exactly the order and the narrowing down of the top five things I love about Japan. After much deliberation and many drinks after the shows I have come to this conclusion:

1) Bidet

Why is it number one? Well if you have ever been to Japan, you will soon find out that most bathrooms have Bidets. It is safe to say it is one of the greatest creations on the planet. Sure you have space travel, the Mona Lisa, flat screen TVs, ipods, but the electronic Bidet is nothing short of a miracle. You think I am kidding...It cleans, it works perfectly, it is a pleasant addition to the toilet family in general. Why the US doesn't have them in public places is beyond me.

My new catch phrase...It's not gay to enjoy the Bidet!

2) Food

The food here is fantastic, and not just Japanese. Italian, Chinese, pretty much everything, well except for Mexican. The preparation, the attention to detail, the quality is on such a high level. I don't think I have ever had a bad meal here.

3) Service

This is a service oriented country.

You will never find a better place for service, AND you don't even really have to tip!

4) Shower Pressure

WOW! Seriously rockin' shower pressure! Enough said.

5) Planes, trains and taxis...

The flight attendants on JAL are kind, helpful, and gracious. The trains and subways in Japan are clean, ON TIME and it all just makes perfect sense. The taxis are clean and you don't have some driver asking you a million questions about where you are from etc. It does help that I don't speak Japanese.

So there you have it. My top five things I love about Japan. Oh there are many more, like how they make their ice, the exact way they pour a beer, the way everyone bows when you enter a hotel, the attention to every detail, but for now this will suffice.

Thanks for reading...

(Last Updated June. 1, 2008)

Currently I am on the road once again with Steve Tyrell and we are in Asia. I decided to write this in a different fashion so bare with me and read. It will all make since as you scroll down, lol

Manila was great. The concert went well, the piano however was probably the biggest price of crap I have ever heard and poor Quinn (our music director and pianist), had to to endur but all worked out. We stayed at the amazing Shangri-La Hotel. A few things I learned...traffic sucks ass there! Oh and if you drink Red Horse beer in the Phillipines, only have a couple. They will totally kick your ass, and I know how to drink, as most of my friends know. Good God that shit is strong!!! All and all, we couldn't have been treated better. The promotor was great, the staff amazing and I hope we get to work with them again.

Now onto Japan: This is my fifth time to this incredible country and I am never disappointed. We are playing at the Tokyo Blue Note and I don't think there is a better Jazz Club on the planet. The food is out of this world, the staff technically is the best I have ever seen and the design of the club is beautiful. Anyone who has played here knows, it is just THAT good!

Tonight we start day two of performances at the Blue Note and then on Thursday we are off to Seoul, Korea for one show and and an offering of US beef to the people. (That's a joke, you see, they are mad at their president because he lifted the ban on importing US beef due to the risk of mad cow disease and well they had this protest, so I thought it would be funny to, oh shit, nevermind)!

This is from a couple of days ago...

We finally made it to Manila. After about 18 hours of travel, we are in the very plush Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. It IS lovely. The drive from the airport was a test in patience , as our driver had the incredible technique of hitting the gas and then of course hitting the breaks for no reason. Oh, and I guess people in the Philippines don't believe in staying in their own lane...What can I say, life is an adventure.

Tomorrow we play our first show and then the day after that we fly to Tokyo and start a four day run at the Blue Note. More to follow, I need sleep!

A couple of week ago we played once again at the Blue Note in NYC and had a great time. I always love staying in the village and the weather couldn't have been nicer. I got to see family, had a friend visit, ate some great food and took tons of pics. Yes I know I need to update my photos on here since they are ONLY about 3 years old! We also played at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ and at the Keswick in Glenside, PA. I don't know what it is about those people but they are always an amazing crowd! They go nuts for Steve Tyrell and it is like a rock show! Kind of fun actually...

Two weeks before that we went back for a third time to play at the Liberty Theater in Ft. Scott, KS. Jim Smith, his wife and all of the folks in this quaint town did it again...They treated us like gold! I just LOVE coming back as does the whole band. When we got there, Jim had closed off one of the streets and did a Wisconsin fish boil. He actually flew a guy from Madison out to do it. The town was there, beers all around, good fish, corn and all the fixens along with brats of course. It was a slice of heaven. The concert went great and THEN to top it off, he had a private jet take us to Kennesaw, GA! Man is THAT the way to travel. I want him to adopt me, lol. Seriously, the folks in that town along with my friend Gary, (who is a hell of a photgrapher by the way), are all great. Thanks guys!

Kevin

(Last Updated Jan. 21, 2008)

The Latest...

I just had one of the best weeks of my life in recent times that involved great music and dear friends. Last Mon. and Tues. I recorded a Brazilian CD with Japanese flautist Simiko Fukatso which included Fabiano on guitar, Bill Cantos ..boards and Tom Kennedy on bass. I had never worked with Tom before, not only is he an amazing musician but also an incredibly nice/ funny guy. I got to play both drums and percussion on the session and just had a blast. Bill and Fabiano were of course, both tremendous as usual.

On Tuesday night after the session, I drove to LAX and took a red eye to Nashville. I got in the next morning and had a rehearsal with Matt Catingub and the Nashville Symphony. I have known Matt since I was 16 and recorded on his first big band album when I was just shy of 18. We have been best friends ever since and if you do one thing in reading this blog, google his name and check out what an amazing talent this guy is. He can pretty much do it all: Conduct, sing, play incredible sax and piano, AND of course he does ALL his on arrangements and orchestrations. Name one Pops conductor who can do all that!

At any rate, it just so happened that he was the guest conductor that weekend and I was there to work with Steve Tyrell and the Nashville Symphony. Matt asked me to play the first half of the shows we did and then he would conduct Steve's show as well. It was a great reunion to see Matt and his wife Vicki, an old friend Jim Mancuso and his wife Beth and their baby girl. I also got to hang with the co-principal trumpet player (Pat Kunkee), of the Nashville Symphony who I went to HS with back in Santa Barbara. AND if that is isn't enough, I spent the day with another friend of many years, Greg V., who is a KILLER guitarist. We toured together many years ago but he moved to Nashville about a 1 1/2 years ago and already has recorded on the latest Keith Urban and Lonestar CDs.

I am now home and reflecting on a really great week. I guess for me at least, as I get older I realize that moments of seeing old friends doesn't come along that often. I feel blessed (and anyone who knows me, I never use that word, lol), that I had this week in my life.

Thanks for reading and hope all is well...

Kevin

(Last Updated Dec. 6, 2007)

Update from NYC...

Well it is officially getting cold in NYC and we are finally past the half way mark of our tour of playing at the Carlyle for two months. Lyman, our bass player decided to go home a couple of weeks ago because the accommodations given to him and Steve Cotter the guitar player, were shall we say less than stellar. Lyman, after about a month of this, decided to go home and spend the Holidays with his family.

Though we miss the big guy, we have been fortunate enough to work with a couple of NY's finest: David Fink, who is a big session guy in town and tours with singer Linda Eder and we are currently using Ed Howard. Ed toured with Roy Haynes for 15 years and also Bob Berg's group. Both guys are fantastic and it has been an honor. We also had a couple of subs for Lou Marini when he had to go out with the Blues Brothers band. We had David Mann and also Lawrence Feldman sub and they of course just played their asses off.

Last night Quinn, the MD and piano player for Tyrell and I went to Smalls, a tiny, (funny they would name it that) jazz club in the village where we saw my friends singer Jane Monheit and her husband Rick Montalbano perform with her band. They sounded fantastic even though poor Rick was coughing up a lung the whole time. Sax great Joel Frahm was there and my God can that man play! I have loved his playing for years.

It is amazing how small this town really is, musically speaking. Everyone knows everyone and after a while of being here, you can see how everything is linked together in some strange/cool way.

Tomorrow the band flies for a break from the cold to Cabo San Lucas! I can't wait as last I heard, it was 86 during the day. This gig couldn't come at a better time and it will be nice to get out of the city for a couple of days. We fly back on Sunday and then once again start our five day a week run at the Carlyle.

We have fewer than four weeks left and time has pretty much flown by. I hopefully will get off my lazy ass and see some great jazz while I am here. I might as well, right?

Until Next Time...

Kev

Well it has been about six months since my last entry so I figured I might as well get off my lazy butt and write something. I am currently in NYC again for the two month stint at the old Carlyle with Steve Tyrell. So far the gigs are going fine, weather hasn't been too bad and it has been one week and I am already bored, lol. I think the older I get the more I enjoy staying home and living a somewhat normal life. Don't get me wrong, I feel blessed to have traveled to so many exotic and some not so exotic places over the years, but home is well, home.

So back to the gig: On opening night it was pretty cool in that the stars came out to support Steve; Regis Philbin, Paul Shaffer from the Letterman Show and singer Patty Austin, who came up and sang a duet with Steve.

What else...Oh Steve Cotter and Lyman Medeiros (guitarist and bass player for Tyrell respectively), have been put up in an apartment on the upper east side that is this short of Dachau. It is complete with cockroaches, no extended cable, no internet, an incredibly small living space and hey, at least the heat doesn't work too well. I do hope that things get resolved for them so that they can at least have a half way decent place to stay for the two month run.

My dear friend, Dorothy, whom I have known for years, took me to see the Broadway production of Young Frankenstein last night which I highly recommend. The cast is great, Andrea Martin and Megan Mullally are in it and do a fantastic job as does Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor. If you are in the City, go see it! I am also going to try and see A Bronx Tale this season as I have heard it is a tour de force for Chazz Palminteri doing all of the characters!

The one good thing outside of steady income for two months is that I get to see a lot of my family. I have two half brothers who live in the area so that is always a good thing to reconnect and see the rest of the family as well.

I also want to take advantage of the great locations and shoot tons of pics since after all; it is my one hobby true hobby.

OK I am spent, I can't think of anything else that might be remotely interesting. I do want to congratulate my friend Todd and his wife Kerry on the birth of their twins, Owen and Elory, which happened a couple of months ago, but alas I am saying it now, lol.

Bye bye and buy bonds!

Kev

(Last Updated Mar. 27, 2007)

I am happy to announce that Mellonie Irvine's CD is finally finished! It sounds great and I couldn't be more pleased. When I get the time I am going to put up a page with samples of it so you all can check it out. Last night we played the CD release party at Soho in Santa Barbara to a great success. Christian Jacob, Kevin Axt , Carl Saunders, Jeff Elliott and Red Holloway all showed up and played their collective butts off!

If you are on the east coast next month be sure to check out gigs with Steve Tyrell in Atlantic City, Mohegun Sun in Connecticut and once again the Blue Note in New York.

(Last Updated Feb. 8, 2007)

This month finally has me home for a while and I am loving it! Don't get me wrong, I love the road but being home every once in a while has its simple pleasures. Currently I am finishing up Mellonie Irvine's CD and she asked me once again to sing a duet with her on yet another song. Thanks Mel! :-) This week we are rapping up the last of her vocals and should be mixing by next week. I am really excited about this project because we were blessed to have some incredible musicians on it: Christian Jacob on piano, Kevin Axt on bass, Carl Saunders and Jeff Elliott on trumpet, Matt Catingub and Red Holloway on sax and Teka on guitar. My old friend, engineer Emmett Sargeant has been great to work with in the studio as always. His humor and musical sense make him such a joy to work with. When the CD has gone to the presses I will make a page where all can listen to some samples. Be sure to check out Mellonie's site for her CD release party and other musings: www.mellonieirvine.com.

I of course will still be performing with Steve Tyrell this month but most of the shows will be in the LA area and one in Palm Desert. If you are in LA, we will be at Catalina Bar & Grill Feb. 15-17 and Feb. 22-25. Come on down! Also be sure to check the schedule page to see if we will be in your area in the coming months. I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge congratulations to Steve's bass player Lyman Medeiros for his teams' win in the Superbowl. He HAS to be the biggest fan of the Colts I have ever seen!

I have decided to join the 21st century and get a couple of myspace pages. If you are on there send me a message and add me as a friend! The addresses are: www.myspace.com/kevwin and www.myspace.com/kevinwinard.

Well that is all the news that is fit to print for now. Be safe and thanks once again for stopping by!

(Last Updated Dec. 23, 2006)

Wow I just realized that it as been an incredibly long time since I updated my site! I think since the year is almost ending I might as well take some time and fill everyone in...

Last May I had the opportunity to play at the Blue Note in NYC with Steve Tyrell and trumpeter Jim Rotondi, (he's Mo Fundy), joined us. Whew what a jazz player! We also did the Today Show in June. We were fortunate enough to be on the show during Katie Couric's last week. It was pretty cool but God I hated waking up so early!

In July Steve Tyrell and band went on an amazing tour of Europe. We started out in Istanbul, Turkey and played the opening gala for the Istanbul Jazz Festival. We actually had to stop our concert because of a prayer service at 11PM. That was a first! From there we went to Montreux for the Montreux Jazz Festival. It was my first time there and man what an amazing place. My hotel room overlooked Lake Geneva and I can tell you that it didn't suck to have that view for three days. We then went to Milan, Italy and performed at the Blue Note. The next day we had an off day and we went into town and hung out in the Piazza next to the Duomo and watched with about 20,000 insane Italians, the final World Cup Game when they beat France. To say the town erupted is putting it mildly. During this whole time I had the opportunity to work with the wonderful Warren Vache. Not only is he an amazing player but also a great guy. From there we did a concert in Vienne, France and then it was off to Spain...We did one concert in San Javier and then for a week we played at the Vitoria Jazz Festival and every night all of the musicians from the festival would hang out at the hotel lobby until the wee small hours. I got to see some of my friends from Sergio Mendes' band and meet legends like jazz drummer Victor Lewis and hang with the guys from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra... It was off the hook! After that we had a week off in Alicante, Spain and then flew to Nairn, Scotland and played a concert for a wonderful crowd in this charming town. The last stop on the tour was London. We played at Ronnie Scott's and had a blast. As usual I took about 1500 photos and I am of course behind in updating my pics so please bear with me. I have to say I have been fortunate enough to have been to many places around the globe but this is one tour I will never forget.

During October we did a tour of the Pacific Northwest and I got to see my cousin John Hillis and his wife, then my dear friend Steven Cooley up in Napa who is a bad ass cop so be cool! :-) Then when we played at Jazz Alley in Seattle I hung out with my first drum teacher Tony Cappiello and wife Paulette. I tell ya, that man can make meatballs like nobody's business! On this tour a great sax player and arranger Jeff Driskell joined us along with Lew Soloff on trumpet. From there we did a tour of the midwest where sax legend Lou Marini joined us and performed at Notre Dame which was pretty darn cool. We visited a few other towns and then off to Milwaukee where I got to see my friend Tom Wetzel who is the principal percussionist for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Then we performed at The Dakota in Minneapolis. If you are ever in that city, check out the club, it is fantastic and the food is unbelievable! While I was there I got to hang out with my old friend and stunningly sexy singer, Jana Anderson . She sings back up for Fleetwood Mac and also Stevie Nicks and has her on projects out on CD as well. Check her out here. The last stop for us on the tour was Ft. Scott, Kansas. I want to personally acknowledge Jim Smith for bringing us out there and making us feel like family. He renovated and old theater called the Liberty Theatre in this quaint town and did a fantastic job!

Now onto the real tour! We did one performance at the Wadsworth Theater near UCLA on Oct. 26 and Steve's old buddy Burt Bacharach showed up and sat in with us to play his song This Guy's In Love. The next day we left for the tour and have been gone ever sense. Our first gig took us to the Boston area. For the rest of the tour Steve's arranger for most of the CDs and wonderful guitarist Bob Mann joined us. From there we went back to Ronnie Scott's in London and then to Germany to perform for Katarina Vitt's Stars on Ice TV show. Man she still looks good! Then back to London for another TV show and then two off days; one in Berlin and one in Hamburg. On Nov. 12 we flew to NYC and have been here ever since. Since Nov. 14 we have been performing five nights a week at The Carlyle. We have had quite a few celebrities come out to see the show: Regis Philbin and his wife Joy, Susan Lucci, the former Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Nancy Sinatra, singer Chuck Jackson, Alan Toussaint and Keely Smith. That is fun thing about this gig, you just never know who is going to show up! We also performed on the CBS Early Show. To see a video clip of the performance click here. Of course I have also had the opportunity to see some serious music while in the city. If you are ever here and want to see some incredible music and not spend a lot of money, check out the Zinc Bar and you will have an up close and personal chance to see some of jazz's top legends for cheap!

So that is the latest. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season and I also hope you enjoyed my latest news. Until next time...

(Last Updated Apr. 17, 2006)

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of doing a drum clinic on Brazilian drumming for a local drum school and arts center called Dancingdrum.com. They are located in Santa Barbara and the folks who run it, Steve and Lindsay Campbell are just the greatest. Their sense of community and what they are building is very inspiring. Steve is also very knowledgeable on African drumming and holds classes, so if you are ever in the area, check them out and go to a class! They will also be hosting a master class on May 20 by the legendary Luis Conte. That is one that is not to be missed!

I would also like to thank George Pendergast of MIke's Drum Shop who brought a lot of the instruments to the clinic and gave so much support in helping make the clinic such a success. When done visiting Dancing Drum, make you pop on by to Mike's Drum Shop and check it out. The staff is great, the selection is solid and it is a Santa Barbara institution. I am also going to be accepting students and teaching there on Mondays and Tuesdays when time permits.

About a week ago I had the pleasure to work with trumpeter Warren Leuning and saxophone legend Lou Marini (The Blues Brothers, Saturday Night Live) with Steve Tyrell. That is one of the great things about this gig; I get the chance to work with some serious horn players and people that I grew up admiring! From May 2-7 I will once again have the opportunity to work with Lou when we play the Blue Note in New York. I am also looking forward to going to some pretty exotic places this summer with Steve. Be sure to check out my schedule page to see the latest.

(Last Updated Feb. 17, 2006)

Well it has certainly been a while since I have done an update and I thought as I sit my hotel room in Knoxville, Tenn. what better way to pass the time. Since the last update a lot has happened professionally. In addition to still working with Doc I have started touring with singer Steve Tyrell. I have been fortunate enough to have gone to many exciting places and have worked with some wonderful musicians and met some legends along the way.

This past October we went to Japan had a blast. Along with musicians Quinn Johnson, Steve Cotter, Lyman Medeiros and Jon Allen, Steve brought legendary trumpeter Lew Soloff and saxophonist Lawrence Feldman from NYC. What a great time we had!

We just got back last week from playing at Yoshi's in Oakland and Lew once again joined us. What a fantastic club! They really know how to treat the musicians well there and if you are ever in the area it is a fantastic place to hear some amazing live jazz.

I would like to thank Quinn for recommending me for the Tyrell gig. I am having such a great time hanging out and playing music with these guys and everyone just plays their butts off!

I am in the process of redoing the layout of my photos. Since I designed this site in Microsoft Frontpage, I didn't realize that Microsoft has its own way of doing code so that if you view something other than in Internet Explorer, the photo layouts look like well, crap! Ya just gotta love Microsoft. Hence, I am redoing everything in Dreamweaver or Flash (haven't decided), so that people who like to use Firefox or Safari as their browsers hopefully can enjoy the photos as well. When everything is up and running, I will also upload lots of pics from the Tyrell tours.

I have also recently done some sessions for some local singers in the Santa Barbara area, Stephanie Sivers and Mari Martin. It was a real treat to work with both of them.

Last week I called my old friend Matt Catingub to come into the studio to lay down some tenor solos for Mellonie Irvine's debut release. Thank you Matt for all of your incredible musicianship over the years and for teaching me how to hear music. Nobody, I mean nobody has the talent that this guy has! If you haven't seen the George Clooney film Good Night and Good Luck, go see it, Matt is the one playing tenor sax in the film and on the soundtrack thoughout...Check out his site to find out more about him: www.mattcatingub.com.

(Last Updated July 15, 2005)

On  July 3rd the memorial service was held for my Mom. I want to thank everyone who came out to show support and love for her. Some made great strides to be there and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I want to personally thank Jerry and Betty Compton for opening up their house and letting me have the party there (which is exactly what my Mom would have wanted). I also want to thank Randy Tico for his help and for the use of his computer in creating a movie that I put together in honor of my Mom. The song clips in the movie, Coax Me, I Got The Sun In The Morning & The Moon At Night and It Had To Be You were all songs that my mother was singing. The man of her dreams is of course my father Larry Winard who passed away Mar 31, 1996. I have uploaded the movie so that anyone who wishes to may see a small glimpse of what a truly remarkable woman she was and also to see the love and humor that my Dad had. I can't even begin to describe how lucky I feel that I had them as parents. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything. See video here.

(Last Updated May 18, 2005)

The past four weeks have been surreal to say the least. Not to get too personal but I went through one of the biggest changes in my life with the loss of my mother Marge Winard on April 29th. I would like to thank all of my friends and family on behalf of my Mom and myself who showed such loving support to her and me and without whom I couldn't have certainly coped as well: Shirley Bleau, Linda Amen, Michael Barber, Matt Catingub, Michael and Adele Winard and their kids, Jerry Compton, Todd Pierce, Steven Winard and family, The Compton family, Marc Compton, Sensei Carpenter, Mellonie Irvine, Charmie Holehouse, Eva Cordova, Craig Thatcher, Randy Tico and Vanessa Isaac, Teka, Luis and Lupe Conte, Steve Matzskin, Doc Severinsen, Sergio Mendes, Michael Shapiro, Jennifer Leitham, Biff Hannon, Bernadette Hilario for talking sense into me and anyone else I may have forgotten. I would also like to thank the staff of the Buena Vista Care Center in Santa Barbara, CA for all of their help and support throughout the past year. They made my Mom's life easier and made mine as well.

On a lighter note, I recently started producing jazz singer Mellonie Irvine's debut CD. I was fortunate enough to have the amazing Christian Jacob on piano and my good old friend Kevin Axt on acoustic bass. Trumpet players Jeff Elliott and Carl Saunders make their appearance and next week the legendary Red Holloway will lay down some tenor sax solos. Mellonie was crazy enough to allow me to sing a duet with her on "Gee Baby" so that should be pretty interesting. I am really looking forward to when this project will be finished. If how it sounds at this point is any indication of how it will turn out, this should be one very nice CD indeed. So far I am very very pleased.

I recently went to Mexico to play in the band that provided the music for Seal and Heidi Klum's wedding. We were treated very graciously and had a lovely time. It was a nice mini vacation from all of the stress of the previous two weeks and couldn't have come at a better time.

This past Sunday I played Jerry Moss's 70th birthday with Bill Brendle, Kleber Jorge and Carlitos Del Puerto. Man what a band! Sergio Mendes came on stage and we played five songs with singers Gracinha Leporace and Dawn Bishop. Sergio then brought up to the stage Herb Alpert's wife Lani Hall to sing two songs. It was a monumental moment and an honor.

I really went back and forth as to if I should mention something so personal on a web site but I wanted to publicly thank the people that my Mom loved and whom I love. I just wanted my friends and family to know that I appreciate everything they have done and continue to do. Much love to all of you...

(Last Updated Jan. 28, 2005)

The month of January has been quite a ride. I recently got back from Houston performing with the Houston Symphony and last week from North Carolina with the Charlotte Symphony. The Houston gig was a blast because Doc had brought out the great big band singer Lynn Roberts to perform and also the great lead trumpet player and dear friend Tony Scodwell. They are such great people and always have incredible anecdotes to share about their amazing careers in the music business. To see their smiling faces click here. Another reason I loved this trip so much was because after many years I had the opportunity to reconnect with my half brother Steve Winard and his family. Take a look and check out the family.

On Jan 17 and 20 I recorded 7 tracks for singer/songwriter Karen Thurber's debut CD In A Dream. Feel free to check out some pics of the latest session. My old friend Robinson Eikenberry is the producer/engineer and I was very fortunate to get the call from him as the great guitarist Jeff Pevar is also on the project.

It would be remiss of me not to mention how this month has brought many challenges to the World and for us locally here in Southern California what with the storms, La Conchita and now the horrible train crash. With the additional passing of the great Johnny Carson, it is hard to make sense of it all. I certainly don't have any answers to the things that are going on. To quote someone I respect a lot, "Life Is Difficult." I do hope that you and yours are safe and sound.

(Last Updated Nov. 13, 2004)

This month has been quite a busy one and it is only half over! I just got back from Oklahoma City with Doc and in addition to doing the normal drumming thing, I was again asked by Doc to conduct a piece for him with the Oklahoma Philharmonic that has him playing a selection called Napoli on the coronet. I was fortunate enough to have someone from the symphony staff take a couple pictures. This last trip and the next few trips with Doc will have me doing double duty. I am filling in for our road manager Bernadette "Pinky" Hilario who is recovering from surgery. Playing drums and taking care of the day to day stuff for Doc and the band certainly makes for interesting and challenging times. Luckily so far so good. I am learning a great deal with regards to the other side of touring and appreciate Pinky all the more for the great job she does and how easy she makes it look.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Augusta, GA with the Augusta Symphony. The great thing about that trip in addition to eating some yummy Southern cooking was that I got to spend a few days with my dear friend Todd Pierce and his lovely wife Kerry. He teaches English at Clemson University in South Carolina and is also a published author. Check out his site to learn more about him and his successes as a writer. You can also see some pics of him and other friends on my friends and family page. It was blast being somewhere and not having to play or perform. We took a day and went Savannah to check out the town. What a beautiful, rich city, it has so much history. We also got to hang and play Halo until 5am every night. Now that's living!

Next week I will be with Doc performing with the Indianapolis Symphony. In December we will be with the Milwaukee Symphony doing a Christmas show involving a 50 piece chorus, full symphony, hand bell choir and a children's' choir. I love doing this show and it always puts people in the Holiday Spirit. We will also be doing the same show with the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis. While in Milwaukee I will also be doing a clinic at the University of Milwaukee on Brazilian drumming and how to play drum set with a symphony orchestra. After Milwaukee we fly to Dayton, Ohio and perform a concert there. We then go to St. Louis and then finally end up in Minneapolis. It will be a busy three weeks to say the least. I am sure am glad I finally bought a winter coat when I was in Ottawa last month!

I also just finished laying down drums on four tracks for flautist Rebecca Kleinmann's debut release. If you go to the studio shots page you can check out some of the images from that session. I plan to finish up laying down my percussion parts on those tunes in a couple of weeks, time permitting. I had a blast recording once again with my good friend Randy Tico on bass and the new wunderkind around town Mitchell Yoshida on piano, who is giving guys twice his age a run for their money.

That is all the news that is fit to print for now. Thanks again for all of your support!

(Last Updated Oct. 18, 2004)

Well I guess the latest news would be that I added this news page to my website in order to keep you up to date as to anything new and exciting. I just got back from Ottawa, Canada with Doc Severinsen where we performed with the National Arts Center Orchestra. He was doing his Cuban show and I once again had the pleasure of working with Luis Conte and Richie Gajate-Garcia on percussion. The shows went really well and I fell in love with that city. I also just uploaded some photos of this little outing. In early September I came home from another tour in Japan with Sergio Mendes. We were over there performing at all of the Blue Note Jazz Clubs visiting Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. We were pretty busy as we did 26 shows in thirteen days. The second time around in Japan was just as good as the first, seeing some old friends and making some new ones. To see photos from the tour click here.

This past August I went with Doc to this amazing town called San Miguel de Allende. He brought his trio along with jazz singer Jennifer Barnes and saxophonist Chris Collins to perform at this great church to raise money for an organization that is helping to educate the locals about the stray dogs there and to find them homes. I was so impressed with the architecture, the food, the people and just the whole vibe. I took a ton of pics of this lovely city so take a look.

On Sept. 26 I got perform with the great Kenny Loggins along with Jeff Pevar (Crosby, Stills and Nash and CPR), Doug Ingoldsby and Randy Tico for a benefit for music in schools called Keep The Beat at SoHo in Santa Barbara. That was a real treat to be able to meet one my of musical heroes. I also got some photos of this event. The day before that I was in Borrego Springs at La Casa del Zorro doing a couple of Brazilian Jazz gigs that weekend with Luther Hughes (bass), Bill Brendle (piano) and the legendary John Pisano (guitar) with his lovely wife Jeannie sitting in on vocals. As you guessed it, I of course have pictures of that as well. The truth is, I bought this killer digital camera and I have been going hog wild. What can I say, it is becoming my new obsession. Somebody stop me!

I just finished recording four tracks of drums and percussion for local singer/songwriter Shawn Thies. She is working on a beautiful Christmas album that is due out very soon. As soon as I get a copy of the finished product, I will put some songs up on my samples page. I also finished recording all of the drum tracks for an album by singer Ray Brown Jr. He is the son of legendary bass player Ray Brown. My good friend bass player Jose Marino produced the project.

For a listing of where I will be performing locally (since I get asked that a lot), across the U.S. and abroad, be sure to check out my schedule page. I keep it up to date so be sure to check back periodically. The rest of 2004 will have me out on the road with Doc quite a bit performing with many different symphonies across the country. In addition to that, I will be doing some local gigs in the area with other artists.

For those of you interested in learning some Brazilian Rhythms for the drum set, please feel free to download some patterns from the articles page under the section, Lessons.

If you want to check out some music that I produced, co-produced and that is for sale be sure to check out the CDs page.

There is a lot here so sit back, read, listen and relax. I hope you enjoy the site. Thanks for your time and if you ever want to contact me, just pop me an email. I am always open to suggestions.