Visionary. Extreme Bassist. Inventor. Mathematician. Rocket Scientist. Criminal who aspires to Sainthood. Continuously Regenerative Musical Outlaw. Taoist Sub-master. All Around Cool Individual. Jazzman. Rocker. Sexual Healer. Madman!Tony has always been successful at somehow magically slipping out of the boxes in which others would attempt to confine him. During his first professional tour of duty, as the electric bassist for Sun Ra's Arkestra, he was dubbed one of "Them Freedom Boys" by the Dark Master himself. No truer words were ever spoken. And that comment was to be understood to be not such a good thing --- for freedom lacking discpline results in slavery. Freedom informed by discpline becomes magical life, i.e. LOVE. Since that initiation, truly a trial by fire, Tony has spent his life developing the spiritual and mental discpline necessary to broadcast LOVE throughout this shared existence.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, who began his journey into musicality in the fourth grade, he recalls, "I wanted to play saxophone like Maceo (Parker). I loved his sound with James Brown. However, the only instrument they had in elementary school was the clarinet, so I learned to play that." After gaining modest proficiency on a number of instruments throughout his formative years, he descended to the depths of the bass section by the end of high school ---- and there he lurks to this day.
Throughout his rather adventurous career, he's been an undeniably potent component of the live music of countless artists. Tony can also be found on recordings by a diverse array of artists, including such notables as
the inimitable Sun Ra, violinist Michal Urbaniak, vocalist Gabrielle Goodman, and most recently, saxophonist Ray Gaskins, to name but a few.
Quite the imaginative one, Tony also pioneered the use of extended range instruments, having designed one of the first 5-string electric basses to employ a low-B string in the late 1970's. Tony developed the concepts for the 5-string fretted and 8-string fretless bass guitars and presented them to a then relatively obscure luthier named Paul Reed Smith. Built by Paul Reed Smith during the period in which he was hand-making guitars for the likes of Carlos Santana and Al DiMeola, these unique instruments are among the most beautiful examples of Paul's early work to be found in the PRS Guitars company archives.
Be careful if you should happen to come into contact with this guy. Once you've experienced him, you'll never be the same.
Never.
EVER.
