I call myself a 'piano player' rather than a classical pianist or a jazz musician, though I've aspired to be both. Mostly self-taught, I clock in around Level 7 on Tonebase's scale.
I have played professionally in piano bars & other venues most of my life, including during the 40+ years I worked a day job as a tax lawyer. I discovered classical music in my later years of High School, and had the priceless opportunity in college to study intermittently with a world-class pianist named Miklos Schwalb.
I've worked on classical repertoire ever since, mostly on my own. Such technique as I do have *lacks refinement*, perhaps because I spent many years simulating grand effects in noisy environments where people couldn't hear the details.
As of 2025, I'm officially semi-retired, working 2 days a week, and able to practice more, with goals of improving my technique and making some lasting recordings. Presently obsessed with Rachmaninoff Preludes & The Well Tempered Clavier.
