A Gift From My Uncle Luke
I've loved music since I was 3 years old, but it became mine at 8, when my uncle Luther "Luke" Waters gave me my first guitar. Luke could play just about any instrument he picked up — the photo alongside this is him on saxophone, cool as ever, back in his Coconut Grove days — but guitar was the one that touched his soul, and it's the one he chose to pass on to me. Along with it, he taught me how to play, and even how to sing a little. That gift started something in me that's still very much alive today.
Singing and playing guitar was a challenge worth chasing. Singing and playing a full drum kit at the same time was another animal entirely — a real hurdle, but one I was determined to clear, and eventually did. These days you might catch me behind the kit or with a guitar in hand, working through jazz standards on my own or with my band, The Brown Bottle Trio.
