Crspiro, 70

Well, Mom definitely was the one responsible for my lifelong involvement in jazz. From early in my life, she played me 78s and LPs of famous jazz musicians, especially ones she was most fond of. My Dad, being quite active in the freelance music business, was in touch with many names in the jazz-and-related-to-jazz field. He introduced me to performers, famous and not-famous, and to the concept of rehearsal bands, where musicians go to meet other musicians, stay in touch with the ongoing scene, and hopefully score some leads or gigs. Although his specialty was not in the art, his influence was without question significant.

So where did this land me? I ended up with a semester at Indiana U. in the Jazz Degree Program with the noted jazz educator Dave Baker. He heard one of my improvisations during his advanced improv classes and complimented me as having my "bebop down."

From there, I finished my music education at Manhattan School of Music, which did not have a jazz program, except for a couple of big bands, and a couple of "chamber jazz ensembles." My big contribution there: I thought, because there was n