About Big B

About Big B

Big B was born and spent his early years on the lower east side of Manhattan, NYC. At the age of 10 his family moved to New Haven, CT, where he studied guitar performance at the Neighborhood Music School and Dwight St. Community Center. He performed professionally for the first time at age 14 in the Summer Concert series on the New Haven Green. After high school, Big B returned to NYC, where he was a street performer and regular at such storied venues as  Gerdy's Folk City, Dan Lynch's and Nightingales. He has performed with Odetta, Bill Dicey, Larry Johnson, Nat Riddles, Canarsie Ken, The Holmes Brothers, Dr. John, Lumi Hilario, Grupo Internacional, Elliot Cobeo, Willie Hernandez, Bruno "El Grilo" Dos Santos and, of course, Casa Mantequilla. In the early '90s Big B, along with saxophonist and vocalist extraordinaire Dr. Hawk Smith and drummer/percussionist and vocalist Mark Righter, co-founded the legendary blues-infused, funkified world grooves NYC band, Casa Mantequilla  (www.casamantequilla.com). Big B holds a BFA in jazz  guitar performance from City College of New York (CCNY), where he studied with Dan Carillo (guitar), Ron Carter (Small Jazz Ensemble, Jazz History), Sheila Jordan (Voice), Ray Santos (Latin Jazz Band), Bob Norden (Music Theory, Harmony, Jazz Harmony Sight Reading and Composition). Big B was also a member of the CCNY Gospel Choir!