[1] After leaving the Army, he played drums and valve trombone while a student at the University of Washington.

On a summer job in Tupper Lake NY at the Altamont Hotel he taught himself to play the string bass.

In 1983 he was elected to the Executive Board of Local 802, the musicians' union of Greater New York, where he served for twenty years.

He wrote a book called Jazz Anecdotes that was published by Oxford University Press in 1991.

[1] With Gerry Mulligan With Stan Getz with Zoot Sims With Bob Brookmeyer With Al Cohn with Clark Terry with Marian McPartland With J. J. Johnson With Al Haig With Jimmy Cleveland With Milt Jackson With others Broadway Shows