He performed and recorded with music icons such as 'Charlie Parker', 'Dizzy Gillespie', 'Machito', 'Josephine Baker', 'Art Tatum', 'Dave Brubeck', 'Eric Clapton', 'Linda Ronstadt', 'Frank Zappa', 'Rick James', 'Aretha Franklin' and 'Jaco Pastorius'.
Admitted he made up his birth date to give to authorities when he came to the United States in the 1940s and was never sure of his exact age.