He also ran a music education studio on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles for many years.
He played early in his career with Gerald Wilson, and began working with Benny Carter in the latter half of the 1950s.
He also accompanied vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Nancy Wilson, and Dionne Warwick.
He played the Monterey Jazz Festival with Gil Fuller in 1965, and worked with Oliver Nelson in 1966 and Blue Mitchell in 1969.
In the 1970s, he performed or recorded with Gene Ammons, the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut, Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, and Sarah Vaughan.