Minnesota Roadkill works primarily with the 12-bar blues form, jazz standards, and liquid composition.  His interest in the blues form came about after a series of conversations with George Russell about the unique challenge pianists face when playing melodies that are either horizontal or extremely vertical.  Roadkill developed a blues performance style in which chord shells are suggested by the left hand, leaving the right hand free to play against the left hand with melodic material drawn from a different chord (the chord at the end of a phrase or section), or from the extreme upper extension of the triad.

Liquid composition is Roadkill’s form of freedom music, or free improvisation.  Though it is not intended as programmatic music, Roadkill begins with a concept and organically unravels musical elements that are conceptually and thematically related.

Roadkill began his studies while in high school, with Herb Wigley, a jazz piano instructor and performer in Minneapolis.  He later studied with Oscar Bellman, a veteran of the 1950s Chicago big band scene.  Roadkill moved to Boston, where he studied with George Russell, Ran Blake, and Mick Goodrick. 

Minnesota Roadkill is also a musicologist.  He studied at New England Conservatory and the University of Minnesota School of Music and has a Master of Arts degree in ethnomusicology.  He has performed in many venues across the US, including the Love Boat, Carnegie Hall, and Las Vegas.  In his studies and professional career, he has had the opportunity to play with many great jazz and blues musicians, including Jimmy Brown (Rio Pardo), Red Maddock, Art Pepper, Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer, Jon Faddis, David Allyn, and Billy Bernard.