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I come from a family of music lovers. Not everyone was a musician, but we all shared its bond whether we created it, sang it, performed it, or lived it.

My earliest recollections include the music of James Brown, Ray Charles, Little Richard, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Big Momma Thornton, LaVerne Baker, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, and Elvis Presley as well as too many other to mention.

I remember Saturday nights being whisked off to bed with my brother Ron. Soon we'd hear music and the sounds of grown-ups at play wafting up from downstairs. Eventually we'd fall off to sleep with the rhythms and melodies firmly implanted in our minds.

The first instrument that I owned was a Silvertone acoustic guitar that was almost as large as I was. I remember struggling to play the bass lines to "Don't Be Cruel" and "Teddy Bear" on that guitar.

I knew that I had to get a real bass guitar when I got my first glimpse of a Fender Jazz bass watching the "Beach" movies of the sixties. Those big guitars with those big strings playing those deep notes... I knew that was for me.

The first band that I was in was called "Andre & the Soul Brothers". (My brother, the drummer and I were the "Soul Brothers"). I was ten years old and we played at a few parties when our family was stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines.

By the time I was thirteen I was performing in the Airmen's, NCO, and Officer's clubs as well as beauty pageants and other assorted gigs. The band at that time was called "The Pacers". It was in this band that I learned the ropes and disciplines of performing as a professional artist. All this at Minot Air Force Base; a missile/bomber base in North Dakota! As I grew in age and experience, so also did I grow in my acceptance of various musical experiences.

If you were today to blend together the music of Quincy Jones, Chuck Rainey, James Jamerson, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Yes, Jam and Lewis, The Doobie Brothers, Claus Ogerman, Freddie Hubbard, Janet Jackson, Lenny White, Joni Mitchell, Brahms, Sibelius, Ravel, Pat Metheny, just to name a few, you'd have a glimpse of my reasons for creating and performing music as I do.

I currently hold the seat as bassist for "Tony Gable & 206", a musical family that has been together for over ten years and is talented beyond words. I feel fortunate to have been associated with the group since it's inception.

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