He began playing jazz on the violin while a student at The High School of Music and Art in New York City.
While attending college at Manhattan School of Music, Pointer earned a reputation as a session musician.
His debut album, Phantazia, went platinum[1] and won the No.1 New Male Jazz Act award in Record World magazine.
He served as a music advisory panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the United States Information Agency (USIA) and was among the youngest people to have held those positions.
[2] In 1993 he released Never Lose Your Heart, which turned out to be his final album; he died of a stroke on December 19, 1994, at age 39.