 He was born in Trieste, Italy as a result of his father's job in academia, but spent most of his life in Boulder, Colorado.He graduated from Fairview High School in 1988, subsequently receiving a BM from the Berklee College of Music in 1992 and an MM in jazz composition from Chicago's DePaul University in 1998.After moving to New York City in 1997, he released the album "Architextures" with pianist Vijay Iyer.