The 30-year-old New Jersey native started playing piano and saxophone when he was a kid and ended up doing impromptu performances for friends during college. He remembers playing during a friend's 20birthday."She had no idea that I was going to be bringing my saxophone," he says,"but I show up with my friend and I played happy birthday." He was a hit.
Other people might prefer R&B or funk, for example, he says."People have reached out to me for events and have said, 'Hey, we want someone to play jazz during our cocktail ." He's declined and recommended other musicians instead. It's easy to find a fellow entertainer online and shoot them a message asking for advice — but that's a pretty transactional and impersonal request. Instead, reach out to people you genuinely want to get to know. Say something like,"Hey, what you're doing is really cool," he suggests."I would love to learn more about that, and hopefully we can play an event together.