How long have you guys been together as a couple and as fellow musicians?.

We met in 1970. I had already entered my first musical retirement and started a career in advertising. A colleague took me to his restaurant on Manhattan's upper East Side. On the way we passed a club that was very crowded. He wanted to go in and I didn't. But then the band started and I heard the drummer playing a funky beat that was way ahead of its time. I was sure it was someone I used to work with. So I went in to say hello to "him." My jaw dropped when I saw this gorgeous young lady playing a Bernard "Pretty" Purdie beat. I told that colleague, "I'm in love with the drummer." To win her over, I had to go back into music and jump through a number of other hoops... it wasn't easy. In fact "Harlem Nocturne," the tune on our CD that's getting the most airplay, had a lot to do with it. But that's a story unto itself for another time.

What made you leave New York City for Houston?

The cost of living in New York was impossible. I worked in advertising during the days, and Bobbie played drums six nights a week. We hardly saw each other except for some gigs when her band added me to the group. After our first daughter, Debbie, was born we decided that we needed to find a less hectic lifestyle and a lower cost of living to properly raise children. We hung up the sax and drums and moved to Houston. My career in advertising flourished, and Bobbie ran a successful interior design company for over twenty years. Most importantly, our daughters, Debbie and Niki, turned out to be fabulous people. We made the right decision to walk away from music for the sake of our children. The wonderful irony is that we've come full circle. The only reason we were able to go back to music was because both daughters insisted that we sit in with the band at their respective weddings.

The Barry Sea Paradox is really fun to listen to, is it equally as fun to be involved in?

I can't tell you how many fans come up to the stage and tell us how much fun they are having because they see how much fun we are having! When you walk away from something you love and are sure it is a permanent separation.....Well, let's just say that music is better the second time around.

On your new release LOST SOUL FOUND SMOOTH JAZZ, you cover some of the greatest contemporary jazz tunes of all times including "Maputo" and "Europa." We really enjoy your spin on them, but you're original on the project, "Bring Us Together" has great appeal as well... Will you be writing more originals in the future?

Absolutely, we'll be doing more originals. I wanted to make sure that we'd be accepted in the smooth jazz genre. That's why we decided to cover the particular tunes that we did. I'm not sure if we had recorded all originals that the powers that be would have classified the material as smooth jazz. Dennis Cotton, our musical director/keyboard player, and I have already started on some original ideas for what we hope will be " Son of Lost Soul-Found Smooth Jazz".....or whatever we call our next CD.

Who are some of your all time favorite jazz artists?

Bobbie admires lots of artists but ranks two people far and away as her favorites. As a kid she used to practice to Cold Sweat, Memphis Soul Stew and everything by Aretha Franklin. Many, many years later she found out that the drummer on all those sessions was Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Today, Purdie is a close friend of ours and Bobbie's mentor. Who's her second favorite? I can't believe how fortunate I am in that she insists that I'm her favorite sax player.

I've got a pretty long list of favorites including King Curtis, Junior Walker, Clifford Scott, Grover Washington, Kirk Whalum, Steve Cropper, Buddy Guy, Lou Rawls, Ray Charles and Otis Redding.

What else are you two good at besides music? Any favorite hobbies that you share?

Well I've written a book entitled "the Keys to Successful Recruiting and Staffing," and am credited with having invented the business practice of recruitment process outsourcing. I still play a decent game of tennis. Bobbie's the world's greatest mother and grandmother (we've got three grandsons and a granddaughter on the way), and still has an incredible eye for interior design. We've always shared hobbies together.... but we have a synergy in music that is unbelievable. Both of us actually started out on Violin and ended up playing soul music. Some people think it's an old wive's tale about people being born for each other. We really believe that our destiny was to be together... two lost souls, who found each other... and smooth jazz!