Darryl Dixon – Founder
After graduating from Rahway High School in Rahway, New Jersey in 1972, Darryl attended Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University, from 1972 to 1976 as a music major. During his four-year attendance he was a part of the Jersey City State Jazz Band, which was one of the top 10 college jazz bands at the time.
While there, he caught the attention of trombonist Bill Watrous when he was doing a clinic and concert there. Mr. Watrous said he was looking for a “marathon soloist” for his big band, The Manhattan Wildlife Refuge, co-lead by trumpeter Danny Stiles, and felt that he could fill the bill. Darryl ended up doing several gigs with the band.
After leaving college in 1976, Darryl moved to California to “get his feet wet” in the music business. The first order of business was to secure an income. That opportunity came in the form of one Mr. Don Cook, who was a prominent music copyist in Los Angeles. Darryl Started doing copyist work and doing lead sheet preparation for A&M and Motown Records. Soon after, an opportunity came to join the Richard Pryor Show band at NBC.
This came through multi-woodwind specialist Buddy Collette, who was part of the “Golden 100” studio musicians who garnered most of the recording and soundtrack work in California. Darryl was taking lessons from him at the time and when Buddy was offered the gig and couldn’t take it because of other obligations, he passed it on to Darryl. After the Richard Pryor Show was cancelled, Darryl started working with pianist/singer/composer/arranger Patrice Rushen. Working with Patrice was an important milestone because it opened up certain melodic ideas for Darryl which inspired the framework for creating melodies that he uses to this day.
After Darryl’s 6-month tenure with Patrice, trombonist Fred Wesley contacted him to tour with Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977 since he and funk sax legend Maceo Parker were leaving to tour with Bootsy Collins. It was then that Darryl moved back to the east coast. After leaving Parliament, Darryl, who was working with Lionel Hampton’s band at the time, was recruited by Parliament lead singer Glen Goins, who also left Parliament, to be music director for the Arista Records band Quazar, which he produced for Clive Davis. After Glen’s passing, Darryl wrote horn arrangements for the group Mutiny on Columbia Records. That was pivotal because it was at the Mutiny sessions that he met trumpeter Marvin Daniels and trombonist Melvin El. This was the beginning of the Chops Horn Section. Reedman David Watson was added six months later. Aside from a period of time when Dave was teaching and Darryl was employed by UPS, Chops has been going strong, with Darryl being the principal arranger.