Pete (Pt) Crispell

Pt began his musical career at the age of three by smashing a guitar to smithereens, predating the antics of The Who's Pete Townsend by approximately 12 years. He started actually PLAYING the guitar in 1964 because as he said, "I wanted to be George Harrison". In between he learned to play the trumpet through the school system, playing in the school band alongside saxophone great, and future Chuck Mangione sideman, Chris Vadala. Chris gave him his first taste of jazz, turning him on to the music of Dave Brubeck and Stan Getz.

In 1980 he met Michael Failla, and the two have been fast friends and musical collaborators ever since. Their first effort was an original music project called Free Flight; others have included The Brothers Hambone, Scratch the Surface, Set to Go ........ and now, Smokin' Toad.

He says, "The greatest thing in the world is doing something you love [i.e., music] with your best friends. Playing with these other 'Toads' is something really special ... we have an UNBELIEVABLE amount of fun, and the music just comes naturally".