1) What group do you play for? Well... musically speaking, I am on sabbatical from playing-out in any musical groups. I was involved with a few Jazz and New Age ensembles, from 1980-1990: Notably, Seventh Voyage and Essence. For the last 22 years, I've mostly been a soloist. Nowadays, I am largely in student mode, as my musical interests are so diverse.
2) What kind of flute do you play? Gemeinhardt soprano: solid-silver (open-holes), Yamaha soprano: silver head-joint, Emerson alto: silver head-joint, DC Pro bass: silver-plated. Bundy piccolo: silver-plated, SR Grenadilla in D: silver-plated keys (made in China).
I also play many other types and sizes of wooden flutes (like Irish flutes), wooden recorders, Native American flutes and an assortment of whistles. Whichever flute I play, it is through the controlled flow of breath, that the miracle of music is born.
Perhaps my truest love is actually the bamboo flute?
Absolutely! Primarily, I play: shakuhachi, bansuri, xiao, dong-xiao, quena and quenacho. But I'm only 53 years old... and there are a lot of variants I still want to embrace, like: the Korean daegum and tungso, Chinese dizi and Egyptian ney.
3) What is your dream flute? William S. Haynes solid-gold soprano. That being said, I've always dreamed of owning an Altus solid-silver Flute D'amour (tenor). To say nothing of several higher-end Japanese shakuhachi!
4) What flute players do you enjoy listening to? Jean Pierre Rampal, Sir James Galloway, Hubert Laws, Yusef Lateef, Paul Horn, Ali Ryerson, G.S. Sachdev, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Katsuya Yokoyama, Watazumido Doso, Carlos Nakai and Nawong Khechog. Of course, there are many, many others.
5) What is your favorite type of music to play or favorite piece you have ever played? Honestly, I really cannot pick a favorite flute tradition, let alone a favorite piece. I enjoy jazz, blues, Indian ragas, Japanese honkyoku (Blowing Zen), jazz fusion, New Age and World music genres.
