Assorted Shots - Gigs, Home Studio & Recording Sessions
freddy.jpg (7542 bytes) I sat in with the Freddie Cole Trio for the past few years during my company's January gala.  Here is a picture that I shot of the trio (quartet ?).
 
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These are some of the BEST musicians that I have ever played with !  This gig was at Vincent Christos.
Drums : Doug Ponier
Bass : Moffett Morris
Keyboard : Tyrone Jackson
Sax :  Gillis Cure
This shot was taken at the Yin Yang Cafe during one of our live public radio broadcasts (10/98). Tyrone Jackson is playing the keys in the background.
In the picture below I am playing a gig with George Sibley (Bass) and Dave Parker (Guitar) at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta.  This photo was taken March 19th 1999.

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This was a very special gig to me.  In the Summer of 1996, my brother flew in from Chicago to visit me and during his stay, he sat in during my gig at 'Just Like Mamas' restaurant in Kennesaw GA.  My brother, Keith West is on drums and Maurice Brown is on bass. We had a blast !!

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Here is my video production studio located in my new house. It consists of a full Betacam A/BRoll editing suite with the addition of 3/4 Umatic and VHS recorders. The rack to the left contains equipment such as vector scopes, color bar generators, sync sources, video amplifiers, matrix switches and misc. patch panels. My audio studio (not pictured here) consists of an Alesis amplifier/studio monitor speakers, a DBX compressor/gate (model 266a), an Alesis Midifex, a Tascam analog reverb, and miscellaneous recording decks. I also have acquired the hardware to digitize video into the MPEG format. I use this format to distribute 'Due West' videos on CDs. FYI: Most of the demo recordings found on my web site were recorded using this equipment.

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Shown in the three pictures below is the Marietta Jazz Orchestra directed by Rob Opitz (on the mike in the picture below).  This concert was performed on May 22nd 1999 at Hemingway's restaurant in Marietta Ga.

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bigband3.JPG (20773 bytes) Here is the trumpet section. We were short one trumpet during this concert.  That's me on the left.
bigband3.JPG (20773 bytes) A very dear friend of mine passed away last year (2000) and left me with his bass guitar (thank you Meg). His name was Jon Mims from Albany Georgia -- '510s RULE < for Jon'. I have always loved bass and knew that someday I would learn to play it. This bass is a Gibson EB-0 (short neck); an older bass that is nortorious for its ease of use. I have purchased a "Learn to Play Bass" video and am well on my way.. But -- don't look for me in your favorite jazz club anytime soon !