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Rex Richardson

A virtuoso trumpet player, Rex Richardson is an adept jazz and classical performer whose work touches upon small-group post-bop, orchestral, and new music. He first emerged on the Chicago scene of the 1990s, playing with big bands and as a member of the chamber ensemble Rhythm and Brass. A professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richardson has released his own jazz albums, like 1997's Pandora's Pocket and 2014's Blue Shift with Steve Wilson, as well as classical trumpet recordings, including 2005's Masks: New Virtuoso Trumpet Music by American Composers, 2018's Freedom of Movement: 21st Trumpet Concertos, and 2023's Force of Nature with euphonium player David Childs and the Black Dyke Band. Born in 1969 in Martinez, California, Richardson played trumpet growing up and studied both classical and jazz. After high school, he studied both music and anthropology at Chicago's Northwestern University. While there, he began his professional career playing with groups like Bill O'Connell's Chicago Skyliners Big Band, William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and Brass Band of Battle Creek. He is also a former member of the acclaimed chamber group Rhythm and Brass, and has performed with a bevy of artists and ensembles, including Joe Henderson, Benny Carter, Boston Brass, Ray Charles, the Phoenix Symphony, Tokyo Symphonic Winds, England's Fodens Brass Band, and the U.S. Air Force's Airmen of Note. In 2000, Richardson earned his Master of Music from Louisiana State University. Along with performing, he has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, and served as International Tutor in Trumpet at England's Royal Northern College of Music and Austria's JAM Music Lab University. He has earned accolades including being named the 2008 Brass Herald International Personality of the Year. The following year, he was presented with the VCU School of the Arts Award of Excellence, and in 2011 he took home the Theresa Pollack Prize for Excellence in the Arts. As a solo artist, Richardson debuted while still in Chicago, releasing the 1995 hard bop session Powers That Be. Two years later, he returned with Pandora's Pocket, another small-group jazz date that also featured a guest appearance by singer Kurt Elling. Masks, an album of classical-oriented new music for trumpet followed in 2005. The large-ensemble classical album Magnum Opus: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos appeared in 2010 and found Richardson working with Daniel Myssyk's Ensemble Instrumental Appassionata, Doug Richards and the Great American Music Ensemble, and pianist Dmitri Shteinberg. In 2014, he paired with saxophonist Steve Wilson for the post-bop date Blue Shift. He has also been featured on such classical albums as 2016's Under Western Skies with Grand Valley State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and 2018's Foundation: The Trumpet Concertos with the Classic FM Radio Orchestra conducted by Grigor Palikarov. Also in 2018, Richardson released Freedom of Movement: 21st Trumpet Concertos, featuring collaborations with Salt River Brass, Maidstone Wind Symphony, Brass Band of Central Florida, and Symphonic Winds Tokyo. In 2023, he joined euphonium player David Childs, conductor Nicholas Childs, and the Black Dyke Band for Force of Nature, a recording of composer Peter Graham's works.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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Discography

10 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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