After Graduation, I mainly did a lot of replacements as a percussionist by different Symphony, Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras, that was definitively one of the beautifulest times in my career. I didn’t wanted to get a fix place in any Orchestra because of the lots of rehearsals they did, and because at the same time I was very busy doing a lot of Recording Sessions and tours (Pop Music) as a Drummer. I don’t want to bother anyone listing here all the Great Classical Music Composers that I played, but I can resume it saying that I Loved and still listen for inspiration to all the Music from (specially) Johan Sebastian Bach, up to Béla Bartòk.

Meanwhile, Fusion Music was “The” highway to drive for all serious musicians. So I started listening to the music of Chick Corea’s “Return to Forever” with Lenny White on Drums, “The Mahawishnu Orchestra” with Billy Cobham, as well as many Recordings with Steve Gadd, Jack DeJohnette and Alphonse Mouzon. That is how I landed in the Jazz Music World, it started up not only like Love to it, I was absolutely fanatic with it, I wanted to know everything and never became enough of it, so I listened to thousands of jazz Records and read dozens of Jazz History Books, that was like my own University of Jazz.

It would take to long to list here all the great jazz musicians that I like and still do, but let me simply mention some of them who have a tremendous influence on my playing at the beginning of my Jazz career (Notice that they were not only Drummers):
First of all my teacher and friend Danny Richmond, then Max Roach, Oscar Peterson, “Shelly” Manne, John Coltrane, Louie Bellson, Eric Dolphy, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Cozy Cole, Duke Ellington, Papa “Jo” Jones, “Cannonball” Adderley, “Philly Joe” Jones, Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, Charles Mingus, Roy Haynes, Woody Shaw, Mel Lewis, Gil Evans, Jimmy Cobb, Nat “King” Cole, Kenny Clarke, Clifford Brown, Tony Williams, Ornette Coleman, “Ed” Blackwell, McCoy Tyner, Marty Morell, Art Tatum, Chano Pozo, Charlie Parker, “Buddy” Rich, Coleman Hawkins, Ed Thigpen, Bill Evans, Baby Dodds, Joe Henderson, Connie Kay, Oliver Nelson...
...and this was only the begin of a beautiful friendship!