Here's my introduction post (finally!)

So, here I am (I'm the in the back row, second from right). I'm a musician. I've been a musician for an awfully long time and I'm here on Steemit because it enables me to make the most of my diversified skill set in a way that just being a working bass player doesn't...

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Some background: I was born in the USA in the 1950s. At the age of five, my family left the US for the first time. Due to my father's work, we relocated to Asia where we spent the next four years bouncing between Japan and Okinawa. I attended both Japanese and English-language schools and was fairly fluent in Japanese by the time we returned to the US. We lived in the US for about a year before we moved to Germany (my father's work again). We initially lived in Augsburg and then later Munich. It was in Augsburg that my musical career started. I had taken organ, violin and drum lessons before we moved to Germany. In Augsburg I took up guitar and started playing in a local band. This was in the early 70s. We were covering everything from Deep Purple to Zeppelin to ELP to Creedence and more; pretty much playing all of the music that was popular with kids at that time. We played at school dances, the local teen clubs, private parties, etc. Another local band lost their bass player due to an accident that left his arm in a cast and I was asked to fill in for him because I "...was a better bass player than guitarist." (how or why the band leader came to that assessment is still a mystery to this day). Whatever the case, the bass and I got along very well and by the next Christmas I managed to convince my parents to buy me a bass guitar - a Framus Jazz Bass copy it was. Before long I was going to jam sessions in the city where I was meeting and being mentored by local, expatriate Jazz musicians. This lead to me getting into the house band of one of the many live music clubs playing with a Soul band made up mostly of guys from the West Indies. We played contemporary Soul and Caribbean covers. Four nights a week from 8 or 9 until well past midnight - this didn't work well with my attendance in school. Whatever, I was gigging with real musicians and getting paid. I held on to that gig until we moved to Munich and I arrived in Munich just in time...

We arrived in Munich in 1974. I was enrolled in Munich American High School and got into the school Jazz band which was under the direction of the legendary George Morrison. (So much future Jazz talent came out of that band; Erika Lindsay, Steve Cobey, Francesca Tanksley, the list goes on) . I took over the bass chair from Dave King ("Love To Love You, Baby" and countless other hits) who had graduated. The MAHS Jazz band was a brilliant learning experience. The bass parts from the arrangements I played in that band are still a part of my vocabulary to this day.

While playing in the school band, I was also going to jam sessions in Munich. The city at that time was the epicenter of the Disco scene. There were many recording studios and the musicians at these Jazz jam sessions were also doing Disco recording sessions. Names like Lothar Meid, George Greene and Ken Rhodes were staples at these jam sessions and the studios. It was through this network that I got my first break playing with Silver Convention. From there, I found myself in demand and playing in various bands like Ruby and the Mudflaps and Embryo (among others). I also did a fair number of sessions for Jupiter/Ariola under Ralph Siegel. In addition to Ralph Siegel, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte were producers I had the honor to spend time in the studio with. Munich was a fertile environment for the up and coming musician and I was lucky to have been there.

A number of Jazz legends were either living in or frequently visiting Munich during that period. Mal Waldron, Billy Brooks, Benny Bailey and Jimmy Woode all lived in Munich while I was there. I had the privilege to hang out extensively with Jimmy Woode; he was like a second father to me. Our relationship went beyond bass lessons. He taught me that I couldn't drink and introduced my to the writings of Ayn Rand. I was at every gig he played in Munich. Always at the edge of the stage following every note and articulation he played. Through my association with him, I got opportunities to play with Johnny Griffin (Jimmy had injured his hand the night before and mid-set motioned me up onto the stage and said, "Jair-Rohm, play the bass."), Joakim Kühn, Tony Scott and Monty Alexander. Jimmy taught me above all else, "You're a human being first.". In other words; musician is something one does, human is what one is and the human needs to be attended to before all else.

Anyway, I left Munich when I was twenty-two to go to New York and become me. By the time I was eighteen I realized that I was "imitating myself"; that I was only pretending to be what people thought I was - namely and American Jazz musician. So, I figured I needed to get over there and get real. Again, I found myself in the right place at the right time.

To be continued...