Topaz McGarrigle his hometown of Austin, TX. Topaz, his jazz group, formed in 1997 in New York City. During his years in Washington, D.C., he performed with a Dead-inspired jam band called Amalgamate and in the acid jazz group Exodus. In 1994, he arrived in New York City he met his Topaz bandmates: Takuya Nakamura (trumpet, synthesizer), Squantch (trombone, didgeridoo), Tewar (guitar, sitar, viola), Justin Wallace (electric bass), Ethan White (keyboards), Ernesto Abreau (percussion), and Phelim White (drums).