Most working jazz musicians hold down a day job, usually in the software industry, to pay the bills. At night, it’s their time to play. George A. Santino did things in reverse. An aspiring singer and a natural on the stage, Santino shelved that dream to provide for his family.
He couldn’t have picked a better profession than Microsoft, where he first started out as an entry-level lab engineer. In 20 years, Santino worked his way up to become a partner — amazing, seeing as Microsoft only had barely 1,000 in its entire history — and retire, three months ago, with the kind of security most working jazz musicians could only dream of.