Rick Germanson (born May 29, 1972) is an American jazz pianist from
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
.
Career
Germanson started playing piano at a young age. After winning the grand prize at the
American Pianists Association's Jazz Piano Competition in 1996, Germanson left Milwaukee for New York City.
Since 2001, Germanson has been a member of the Cannonball Legacy Band headed by
Louis Hayes
Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...
, who was a drummer for
Cannonball Adderley
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...
. He has toured with
Pat Martino
Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Biography
Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...
's tribute to
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...
.
He has worked with
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
Regina Carter
Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter.
Early life
Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family.
She began piano lessons at the age of t ...
,
Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...
,
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...
,
Frank Morgan
Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous soun ...
,
Eric Alexander,
Frank Lacy
Frank Lacy (born August 9, 1958, Houston, Texas) is an American jazz trombonist who has spent many years as a member of the Mingus Big Band.
Career
Lacy's father was a teacher who played guitar with Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Eddie Clea ...
,
Marlena Shaw
Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942) is an American jazz, blues and soul music, soul singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in Hip hop music, hip hop mus ...
,
Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Col ...
,
Brian Lynch,
Jim Rotondi
James Robert Rotondi (born 28 August 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and conductor.
The youngest of five siblings, Rotondi was born in Butte, Montana. He played in New York City for twenty years before moving ...
,
Charles McPherson,
Charles Davis,
Craig Handy
Craig Mitchell Handy (born September 25, 1962) is an American tenor saxophonist.
Born in Oakland, California, he attended North Texas State University from 1981 to 1984, and following this played with Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Haynes, Ab ...
,
Cecil Payne
Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...
,
George Gee,
Gerald Hayes
Gerald Hayes (born October 10, 1980) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh.
Early years
Hayes played his high school ...
,
Joe Magnarelli
Joseph Anthony Magnarelli (born January 19, 1960) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist.
Early life and education
Magnarelli was born in Syracuse, New York. He received a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Fr ...
,
Ian Hendrickson-Smith
Ian Hendrickson-Smith is an American jazz saxophonist. He is best known for being a former member of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings from 2004 to 2010 and playing with The Roots on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon''.
Early life
Hendrickson-S ...
, and
Gerald L. Cannon
Gerald Leon Cannon (born 1958) is an American jazz double bassist and visual artist.
Early life
Born in Racine, Wisconsin, he attended The University of Wisconsin at La Crosse where he met jazz player Milt Hinton. Cannon also studied at the Wisc ...
.
Since 2014 Rick has been professor of Jazz Piano at
The Jackie McLean Institute,
Hartt School of Music
The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...
at
The University of Hartford.
Discography
* ''Heights'' (Fresh Sounds, 2003)
* You Tell Me (Fresh Sounds, 2005)
* ''Off the Cuff'' (Owl, 2009)
* ''Live at Smalls'' (Smallslive, 2011)
* ''Turquoise Twice'' (WJ3, 2019)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germanson, Rick
1972 births
Living people
Musicians from Milwaukee
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American pianists
American jazz bandleaders
American jazz composers
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
American male jazz composers
Owl Studios artists
WJ3 Records artists