ABOUT THE ARTIST

When I was a fetus, my great-grandmother Ella told my mother, "I'm going to get you a piano, and your first child is going to learn how to play it." I started learning my way around the instrument around 5 years old, and haven't looked back since (save for a short period in middle school when I was too cool to play piano - or too distracted). Constantly seeking out and exploring new musical frontiers, I have played all over America with countless bands and ensembles, setting up residencies in Connecticut, Boston, Vermont, and most recently New Orleans. 

 

In college I was fortunate enough to study with musical luminaries Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier, and Pheeroan akLaff. While in the northeast, I got to share the stage with international reggae artists such as Everton Blender (Jamaica), Shasha Marley (Ghana), Queen Omega (Trinidad), Ajahni (Haiti), Sara Lugo (Germany), Shango Axe, and Toussaint the Liberator (USA), often with my band of compatriots known as Buru Style. I also formed and wrote extensively for jazz-rock quartet Jupitang, the Prince-inspired Craig Mitchell and Motor City, and an organ trio known as Studio Chicken, releasing multiple albums under each name. 

 

Since arriving in New Orleans in 2012, I have been busy creating music with brass bands, jazz bands, funk bands, cover bands, country bands, singer-songwriters, afrobeat bands, reggae bands, and hip-hop producers, as well as producing my own music, released as SunDyl, The Gold Standard, and Jake Gold. Currently, The list of projects I've been involved with here include LSD Clownsystem, BAAB, Gene’s Music Machine (which also hosts a weekly "superjam" session), Margie Perez , Dysfunktional Bone, Hyperphlyy, Jose Fermin Ceballos y Merengue 4Four, Luscious Duchess, Chris Klein and the Boulevards, Deez Jakes, Suze the Band, Kumasi Afrobeat Orchestra, Moments of Truth Brass Band, Zena Moses and the Rue Fiya All-Stars, Glen David Andrews, Los Guiros, Jon Roniger & The Good For Nothing Band, Big Fun, Dirty Tuba, Soul Project, Funky Uncle All-Stars, 504 Horn Troopers, The NOLA Dukes, Antoine Diel, Shabram and the Fam, TV Poleshine, and Now That's What I Call a Karaoke Band. I have become a mainstay in the  New Orleans music scene, and have traveled the globe with many of these artists to spread joy through music to countless stages, festivals, and listeners.

 

In addition to recording and playing gigs, I also accompany the occasional church service or musical theater production, and finished Master's Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of New Orleans in 2020, where I dug into jazz composition and improvisational study under masters such as Victor Atkins, Steve Masakowski, and Brian Seeger.

 

I also have experience with live sound, record engineering, and I even spent a short time playing cello in a symphony orchestra. During the school year, I teach pop music at Loyola University and have done commercial recordings for such clients as the New Orleans Pelicans and Booking.com.

 

My favorite food is and always has been pizza.

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Also I'm no web developer, so pardon the shite upkeep on this here website.