He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts and learned to play drums and piano with his father. His career began in 1962 and he moved to New York City where he went to music schools and played with famous jazz musisicans such as Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan and Miles Davis. In 1972 he started his own jazz band called Return to Forever, where he played electric piano. In the 1980s he formed one band called the Acoustic Band and one called the Electric Band. He also had small trios and bigger bands. One of his recents bands was called "Spanish Heart Band" and had 8 members.