So…. All of the instruments and arrangements that you hear in my 300+ songs were played,
composed/arranged and recorded by me. I began this pursuit while a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at the University of Wyoming…. why solo you may ask?…. try to find a jazz/funk/latin/hip hop/rock musician in Wyoming….. there was also a paucity of Beach Volleyball and of course no sailing…. thus without a peer group I turned to the Music Composition Software which had just recently become available and I began to compose….. Friday and Saturday Nights…. A bottle of Cabernet….. And dreams of warmer climates.
I have mainly a classical background from which I jumped right over Jazz and into Rock. My influences were Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana and the Grateful Dead. When I began performing my original jazz solos I started to get requests for the (jazz) classics and began investigating the likes of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis…..etc. What I found were complex progressions and beautiful melodies, the likes of which people don’t write anymore.
I have taken a different approach on many of my arrangements. I utilize alot of Latin/Caribbean elements and poly-rhythms in both my originals and the traditional jazz swing standards because it makes the songs even happier. This Latin influence is something I picked up in Key West, Fl. I took a year off from school after my masters, pre-Ph.D. and went to Key West with the Crispy Critters to open Barefoot Bobs. While there I was invited to sit in with the weekly Cuban Street Parties…. A street was blocked off and I played with a 12 piece Cuban Band every Tuesday Night…. it was just incredible… there were probably 300-700 people there every week and I was one of the few English speaking people to be found.
Soooo… to the right you’ll find links to the live CD’s “Bubblebath Jazz” and “Professor James G. Looby – Live Notes from the Algonquin”, my song lists where you’ll find everything from Gershwin, Cole Porter, Al Jolson and Duke Ellington to Carlos Santana, The Beatles, Jeff Beck and the Grateful Dead.
Band History: I’ve been with: Just Us, Impromt2, Liquid Salad, The BC, Rubber Monkey, The Crispy Critters, Tuesday Bluesday, The Moon Dogs, Zero Days Clean, Big Mouth, Bare Bones, Half Step, Rich Ortiz, Acoustic Circus and by myself Solo.
