Darryl Tookes
Performing Artist & Composer

If one were to choose a category for Darryl Tookes’ music, the three styles that come to mind are jazz, cabaret and cutting edge. He composes, arranges, and performs songs about love, pain, joy, and loyalty. Songs wrapped in soaring melody and lyrics that go straight to the heart. Uplifting songs that make the spirit soar, romantic songs of loyalty between a man and a woman, haunting songs for the broken hearted, sexy songs that set the feet to dancing, peaceful songs that reassure the spirit, and gentle songs that bring men and women, boys and girls home to the goodness in their hearts.

Born into a family of athletic, musical and academic achievers and pioneers, Darryl Tookes discovered early in life that his paths would offer myriad possibilities, often perceived as elements from worlds that would tend to collide, rather than peacefully co-exist. His answer to this paradox would be to take the road less traveled, and to remain true to his inner vision. Darryl’s ancestry mingles Cherokee, African and European roots, and his musical talent comes from his maternal side. His grandmother Benveneta Washington was a star on Broadway, on contract to Warner Bros. for film, and a vocal soloist with the Hall Johnson Choir, while his mother Leona Washington was a classical, jazz and sacred chanteuse, who left the stage for her family. Born in the Bronx, Darryl and his brother Hansel moved to Tallahassee with their parents when they were young boys. Their father, the late Hansel Tookes, who died November 14, 2007, was the legendary Florida A&M golf and football coach.

Darryl Tookes excelled in sports, and at 6’5” became a local scholastic basketball hero. All the while, he observed the highly accomplished sports stars in his father’s arena, like Bob Hayes – the Olympic champion, winner of the Gold medal in the 100-meter dash in Tokyo 1964 and Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win Wimbledon. These extraordinary athletes would serve not only as mentors, but also as examples of the possibility for greatness.

Upon graduating from high school, Darryl received a full scholarship to study physics at Florida A and M University, graduating in three years, magna cum laude. During that time he also matriculated at MIT and was accepted into medical school. He met and became friends with several members of the group Earth, Wind and Fire, who took him under their wings and further ignited his imagination. The siren pull of music was stronger than medicine, leading Darryl to forsake Boston for New York to pursue his career. Growing up in the church and inspired by his mother, who was profoundly religious, Darryl also challenged his psycho/ spiritual self with the reality of a living faith, one that informs his journey to this very day.

Musically, Darryl Tookes is an extraordinary pianist, a singer with seemingly unlimited range and command. As a pianist, he has an unmistakable personal touch. His voicing and harmonic design are studies in possibility. Like his heroes in physics, Tookes is on the cutting edge. And like his musical heroes, his music is pure passion, filled with sensuous rhythms and an adventurous multicultural feel. He is a master of melody, narrative and surprise, where each song is a concerto. Each telling a story.

The word ‘angelic’ is often used to describe the voice of Darryl Tookes. From his seminal debut hit “Lifeguard,” to the fanciful whimsy of “Joyce, the Australian”, to the poignant metaphorical “Red Bird”, to the critically acclaimed “Travels of an Ordinary Man” CD, to the myth of Maiden and Muse set to a soaring orchestral accompaniment in “New England Morning,” to “Journey To The Hieros Gamos” a poetic voyage into the imagination, this modern Renaissance man delivers fresh.

After graduating from Florida A&M magna cum laude in physics, Darryl forsook MIT and medical school for his musical career. Mr. Tookes lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.

DISCOGRAPHY

Journey to the Hieros Gamos, 2006, Dondido Music. Salute!, 2005, Curb Records. New England Morning, 2003, TBM Records. Babies and Balloons, 2000, Lifeguard Inc. Red Bird, 2000, MCA Universal, the Philippines. Travels of An Ordinary Man, 1996, Dondido Music, Five Star rated independent record. Rendezvous, 1994, Capitol Records. Darryl Tookes, 1989, SBK Records, featuring Billboard hit “Lifeguard.”

Darryl Tookes has recorded five solo albums since 1989. As the flagship of its newly- formed label, SBK Records released his debut album, Darryl Tookes. An instant success on the Billboard charts, the record featured “Lifeguard,” which Darryl wrote in dedication to his grandfather; “Rio,” visions of Brazil; and “Mama,” a joyous remembrance of his beloved mother. Capitol Records’ Rendezvous, released in 1994, highlights Tookes’ smooth, jazz-oriented “Joyce, the Australian,” “Paradise,” and “If I Could Just Hold Her Again.”

With thanks “to the One who loves us all,” Babies and Balloons, also 2000, reflects the artistic collaboration of Darryl Tookes, Joseph Joubert, and Frank DeMaio. The first three tracks are the products of Darryl’s composing collaboration with Frank Floyd’s poetic verse. Of special note, through the wizardry of modern technology, Darryl sings a duet of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” with the voice of his late mother, Leona Washington.