David Sancious was the son of Jimmie and Stelma Sancious. He was born in Long Branch (New Jersey) on November 30, 1953. David’s father was an engineer and his mom was a teacher. David’s early interest in music was evident when, at four years old, he was able to pick up a few notes on the small plastic guitar that his parents gave him and then play along with a Calypso album his father used to play often. A piano was added to the house purchase two years later, when the family moved from Asbury Park, NJ, to Belmar, N.J. His mother took the boxes and furniture and started playing beautiful classical piano pieces, much to his delight. Instantaneously, the effect was evident. His mother arranged for piano lessons, with a special emphasis on the classical piano repertoire. The house was full of music from all genres, as David was the youngest of three brothers and his father and mother had very different musical tastes. Every day, everything from Mozart to James Brown was played. The piano preludes of Chopin, Beethoven and Miles Davis were some of the early musical influences. Folk music, R
