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He is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and teacher who
started out his professional career with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra when
he was 21 years old, where he would learn what it was like to play
alongside artists such as Snooky Young and Marshall Royal. He would soon move into the world
of studio musicianship as well as live jazz sessions and notched up
appearances with many acclaimed jazz performers including Jim Keltner, Jeff
Porcaro, Stanley Clarke and Art Pepper. In the early 1980s he was a member of the rock quartet
Big Ric and at the same time he performed with the jazz-fusion group Uncle
Festive that was led by the Big Ric drummer Bud Harner. With Uncle Festive they would also
back Barry Manilow for a decade until they disbanded in 1990. Continually
in demand in the recording studio as well as on live sessions he has gone
on to appear with numerous successful and/or chart-entering artists such as
George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, David Benoit, Randy Crawford,
Melissa Manchester, Janet Jackson, Al Jarreau and many more. He is a founder member of the
organ/guitar duo, Kombo, with the pianist Ron Pedley who was also in Uncle
Festive, and from 1999 they have released the albums The Big Blast
and Cooking Out. He
is also a founder member of the contemporary jazz group Jazz Hole who
have seen success with several albums includingAnd the Feeling goes Round, Blackburst
and Circle of the Sun. In
the world of movies and television he has contributed to soundtracks such as
Miami Vice, Six Feet Under, Court TV and many of NBC's "Movie of the
Week", music for companies such as ESPN, The Family Channel, HBO, McDonalds
and Coca Cola. Working in the
world of education he has been an instructor and clinician since the 1980s
where he has given clinics for companies such as Yamaha Corps and CBS
Musical Instruments, and he was a jazz ensemble instructor at Concordia
College, Bronxville, New York, for a four-year period from 1999 to 2003.
Big Ric recordings
Take Away (Bud Harner/John Pondel/Kevin DiSimone)
Sources:
- http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?ob=per&src=prd&aid=3058
- http://www.ronpedley.com/raudio.htm
- http://www.jazzhole.com/bio.htm
- http://www.answers.com/topic/big-ric-album-by-big-ric?cat=entertainment
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