Logan Richardson
Encyclopedia
Logan Richardson is an alto saxophonist, composer
, & bandleader
currently living in the New York City
, NY area. He debuted as a bandleader with his 2007 critically acclaimed album
"Cerebral Flow". He leads SHIFT, a modern jazz group exploring his past compositions, & Gravy Trayn, an experimental electronic panoramic trance band.
and 45s of his parents. He was constantly emersed in R&B, pop
, rock
, funk
, soul
, Motown, and gospel
from an early age. His first musical memories include artists as diverse as Michael Jackson
, The Temptations
, Stevie Wonder
, Mahalia Jackson
, Phil Collins
, James Ingram
, Hall & Oates
, etc.
was the first jazz musician Logan can remember seeing live. The American Jazz Museum
brought Mr. Roach to K.C. frequently in the mid 1990s as a clinician. Logan also had the opportunity to perform with legendary Kansas City bandleader Jay McShann
in the 1990s. In 1996 Logan began leading his own groups in and around the Kansas City area. Logan performed with the Kansas City Symphony
in February 1997 at the age of 16.
in August 2001, Logan enrolled in the New School University where he met, befriended and performed with young musicians and teachers Greg Tardy, Joe Chambers
, Billy Hart
, and many others.
Since 2005, Logan has led his own group, SHIFT, which features Logan's compositions as well as the creative and genre-bending playing of his compatriots.
Logan has also been a member of drummer Nasheet Waits (son of jazz drummer Freddie Waits
) group "Equality", a band that has featured many top international festivals with pianist Stanley Cowell
& bassist Tarus Mateen.
On February 27, 2009, Logan was a member of the much-lauded Monk At Town Hall performance with Jason Moran
& Big Bandwagon, culminating in the historic performance at Town Hall celebrating a reshaping of Monk's music by Moran.
As a sideman:
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, & bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
currently living in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, NY area. He debuted as a bandleader with his 2007 critically acclaimed album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
"Cerebral Flow". He leads SHIFT, a modern jazz group exploring his past compositions, & Gravy Trayn, an experimental electronic panoramic trance band.
Childhood
Logan grew up surrounded by the numerous LPsLPS
LPS can stand for more than one thing:* Lipopolysaccharide * Liters per second* Low Pressure Sodium vapor lamps* Leases per second, a speed measure for DHCP servers* Leica Photogrammetry Suite, official name was changed to "LPS" in 2008...
and 45s of his parents. He was constantly emersed in R&B, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, Motown, and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
from an early age. His first musical memories include artists as diverse as Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson – January 27, 1972) was an African-American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel"...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, James Ingram
James Ingram
James Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...
, Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
, etc.
Early career
Attending Paseo Academy of Fine & Performing Arts, Logan was exposed to jazz personalities who would have a profound impact on his future. Max RoachMax Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
was the first jazz musician Logan can remember seeing live. The American Jazz Museum
American Jazz Museum
The American Jazz Museum is a jazz museum in the United States. Located in the historic 18th and Vine district in Kansas City, Missouri, in a building also housing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, it preserves the history of the American music: jazz. The museum features exhibits on Charlie...
brought Mr. Roach to K.C. frequently in the mid 1990s as a clinician. Logan also had the opportunity to perform with legendary Kansas City bandleader Jay McShann
Jay McShann
Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
in the 1990s. In 1996 Logan began leading his own groups in and around the Kansas City area. Logan performed with the Kansas City Symphony
Kansas City Symphony
The Kansas City Symphony is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The current home of the Symphony is the Lyric Theatre, located in Downtown Kansas City on 11th Street between Wyandotte and Central Streets...
in February 1997 at the age of 16.
New York years
Moving to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in August 2001, Logan enrolled in the New School University where he met, befriended and performed with young musicians and teachers Greg Tardy, Joe Chambers
Joe Chambers
Joe Chambers is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory for one year. In the 1960s and 70s Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Lou Donaldson, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Giuffre...
, Billy Hart
Billy Hart
William "Billy" Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history.-Biography:Early on Hart performed in Washington, D.C...
, and many others.
Since 2005, Logan has led his own group, SHIFT, which features Logan's compositions as well as the creative and genre-bending playing of his compatriots.
Logan has also been a member of drummer Nasheet Waits (son of jazz drummer Freddie Waits
Freddie Waits
Freddie Douglas Waits was a hard bop and post-bop drummer.He was a member of Max Roach's M'Boom percussion orchestra....
) group "Equality", a band that has featured many top international festivals with pianist Stanley Cowell
Stanley Cowell
Stanley Cowell is an American jazz pianist and founder of the Strata-East Records label. He played with Roland Kirk while studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and later with Marion Brown, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Harold Land, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz...
& bassist Tarus Mateen.
On February 27, 2009, Logan was a member of the much-lauded Monk At Town Hall performance with Jason Moran
Jason Moran
Jason Matthew Patrick Moran was an Australian criminal from Melbourne, Victoria, and one of the leaders of the Moran crime family, notable for its involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings. He sported a 12 cm scar on the side of his face.-Early life:Moran was the son of Lewis Moran and...
& Big Bandwagon, culminating in the historic performance at Town Hall celebrating a reshaping of Monk's music by Moran.
Discography
As a leader:- Cerebral Flow (2007) Fresh Sound, New Talent
- Ethos (2008) Inner Circle Music
As a sideman:
- The Outlaw (2005) Joe Chambers
- Steps of Faith (2006) Greg Tardy
- Prelude to Cora (2008) Ambrose Akinmusire
- Equality (2008) Nasheet Waits
- Sixty-Eight (2010) Billy Hart
- III (2010) Walter Smith III