(keys, first-person bios)

I am a musician because of my family. My Father (an accomplished guitarist) and my Mother (the best mom on the planet) raised my two brothers and I to be as creative as we could be. I enjoyed a brief stint as a drummer at the age of six, then endured the longest musical drought of my life that mercifully came to an end when I began playing piano around my 16th birthday. Early musical influences included Dave Brubeck, Nate Wilson, Gregg Allman and John Medeski. My older brother James provided immeasureable support and encouragement in my first years as a musician and introduced me to the likes of Steely Dan, Jamiroquai and Stevie Wonder. I later re-paid James the favor by ratting him out to my parents when I caught him smoking a cigarette behind the house. He's since forgiven me. I think. Ryan and I met sometime in 1999 through a mutual friend and we immediately had a strong musical connection. Once I discovered there was nothing for me to snitch on him for, I introduced him to James and the rest is history. Playing with the Ryan Montbleau Band is truly a dream come true for me. I get to play with a group of my favorite musicians, playing music I love and it affords me the opportunity to tattle on a wide variety of people for a wide variety of violations (note: I determine what constitutes a violation). Today I am studying with local jazz organ legend Ken Clark and listening to a hell of a lot of Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Jeff Buckley, The Roots, Radiohead and Martin Sexton. I've performed with area artists The Boston Horns, Brother Chameleon, Orville Giddings and KD Bell.