I am 44 years old and have been playing since I was 12. I am self taught.

I play a custom 7-string fretless bass (formerly a Conklin GT7 and now my Om Bass), and electric sitar (formerly a Ric 4001). I also have and occasionally play electric upright bass, sitar, acoustic guitar, conga, udu, clarinet, and various other instruments but would not say that I play them as much as play with them.

My influences in approximate order of appearance were: Mozart, Handel, Gustav Holst, Donald Duck Dunn, Geddy Lee, Jaco Pastorious, Stanley Clarke, Eddie Gomez, Percy Jones, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Joe Zawinal, Ancient Future, John McLaughlin, Miles Davis, John Coltraine, Paco DeLucia, Zakir Hussain, Ravi Shankar, L. Shankar, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Shrinivas, Trilok Gurtu, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten....

I have played in and led many bands through out my life.

I currently play with Avaaza ~ World Music to Move You, Gina Sala', Andre Feriente, Tarana, Ancient Sounds, Shoruk (traditional belly-dancing music), an Afro-Cuban drum group, and my solo project, Tal Maya ~ Beat Illusion.

Most notable from the past are the Little Green Men (avant - space jazz) from Minneapolis, and Machete~ Flamenco for the 21st Century.

A Handful of Beauty by Shakti