Catfish Jack Bio

I can remember seeing the harmonica bounce off the side of the drawer. My good friend and musical mentor, Tommy “3 Chord”  Nevins handed me the harmonica and I’ve been gone ever since. I’ll always be grateful for that day and Tom giving me my first haromica. My life truly changed that day. Since that summer of 1983 I’ve never looked back. How fortunate for me that at that time the Blues was having a Revival! I got the opportunity to see and hear many of the remaining great blues musicians, including seeing  and meeting  Muddy Water’s harp player James Cotton in Chicago. Fast forward to 2001 I got to “sit in” with Los Lobos and Charlie Musselwhite at the San Francisco Blues Festival. And recently, I closed out the last set of the 25th Annual Kate Wolf Music Festival with the Phenomenal Ruthie Foster. What a ride!

It turned out I was pretty good at teaching , so began my teaching career in 1997.

I’ve been fortunate to teach at music festivals including, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, Wild Iris Folk Festival, and the Redwood Ramble. I’m a resident teacher at Joe Craven’s RiverTune Roots Music Camp and the West Coast Ukulele Retreat. I’m so grateful for the hundreds of private students I’ve had over the years. But one of the most fun (rewarding too!) I’ve had is teaching kids to play harmonica. Whether it’s in schools, music camps or libraries it’s a load of fun!