Jazz Singer / Piano Man

Glenn was born and raised near Trenton, NJ and began playing the piano at age seven with a local teacher. At age 10, Dad’s money got tight, so Glenn began teaching himself from his father’s “fake books,” which his father had used in his own combo since 1937.

At age 18 (1972), while still in high school, Glenn auditioned for and won a spot with a Trenton based 16 piece (+ vocalists) big band known as “Bob Smith’s Lamplighters.” The Lamplighters were an authentic 1940s style orchestra playing original charts from Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Count Basie, etc., 5 and 6 nights every week. Bob was a classmate at Ewing High School of the great alto saxophonist Richie Cole who often sat in with the band. The exposure to jazz, be-bop, swing and Latin music in the Lamplighters was extremely valuable to Glenn. Glenn resumed his studies at age 18 with pianist Norman Schnell of Cranbury, NJ, who had played with Gene Krupa’s big band. Glenn studied the art of big band piano accompaniment with Norm as well as how to effectively support a vocalist without stepping on their toes. He also studied in New York City with the great pianist Walter Bishop, Jr.

After leaving the Lamplighters, Glenn went on to play with an all-black (except for Glenn, of course ) R&B/Funk band called “Afterworld.” Afterworld played shows with artists such as Archie Bell and the Drells, Instant Funk, Bunny Sigler, George Buzzy, Eddie Kendricks, Brooke Benton and members of the great r & b group “Kool and the Gang.”

Glenn attributes his time with “Afterworld” instrumental to him developing his sense of rhythm.

Glenn then performed and traveled with the Delfonics from Philadelphia who were trying to make a comeback in 1979, but, alas, the Stylistics had taken their place at the top of that genre.

Glenn then travelled and performed extensively throughout Northeast hotels and resorts for eight years in a musical duo with his former wife, Gloria McKee. “Combined Effort,” as the duo was called, played a mix of dinner music, jazz and swing, ballads, Latins, rock and roll and country music. It was during these years that Glenn was exposed to and developed an appreciation for country music. One of his favorite activities as a pianist is backing a vocalist.

Glenn’s passion now is straight-ahead jazz, and since relocating to Florida five years ago (most recently from New Hampshire), he has had the honor of getting to know and play with some of the great jazz musicians who have settled in Southwest Florida.