Some of his songs have been pretty left of center, while others have been quite melodic, congenial and accessible. Although born in Chicago, Weinstein grew up in Southern California and Mallorca, Spain. After taking piano lessons as a child, Weinstein became a drummer at age 12. He played in rock bands as a child, but as time passed, he became more jazz-oriented. In 1986, he moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music and studied privately with drummer Alan Dawson. Weinstein chose to make Boston his permanent home, and it was at the University of Massachusetts that he studied with Max Roach. In the early 1990s, Weinstein founded a Boston-based quartet that included tenor saxman Don Houge, guitarist Elie Massias and bassist Masa Kamaguchi. Houge was replaced by Chris Cheek in 1994. Weinstein's CDs as a leader include 1994's Nostalgia on Accurate and 1998's Sound Emotion on Gunther Schuller's GM label. ~ Alex Henderson