Rick Vandivier (born October 18, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist. He is the leader of the group Vandivier and the co-founder and lead guitarist of Primary Colors, a group that includes vocalist Nate Pruitt.

Music career

Vandivier is a graduate of

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston. and San Jose State University where he teaches guitar. In his formative years, in addition to private studies with Pat Metheny and Mick Goodrick, Vandivier took master classes with

Christopher Parkening Christopher William Parkening (born December 14, 1947) is an American classical guitarist. He holds the Chair of Classical Guitar at Pepperdine University under the title Distinguished Professor of Music. Biography Parkening was born in Los Angel ...

, Rey De La Torre, Michael Lorimer, Michael Hedges, Tuck Andress, and Manuel Barrueco. His performing career has been highlighted by performances at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, the Great American Music Hall, and the Berlin Jazz Festival in addition to the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

in The Hague, Abidjan (Ivory Coast, Africa) the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the

Wilshire Theater The Saban Theatre ( ) is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Le ...

in Los Angeles, the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, and the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Ameri ...

in San Francisco, the

Seattle Opera House Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (often abbreviated to McCaw Hall) is a performing arts hall in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on the grounds of Seattle Center and owned by the city of Seattle, McCaw Hall's two principal tenants are the Seat ...

, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artists he has performed with include Smith Dobson,

Albert "Tootie" Heath Albert "Tootie" Heath (born May 31, 1935) is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, he first recorded in 1957 with J ...

, Bruce Forman,

John Handy John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor and baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and oboe. Biography Handy was born in ...

, Mose Allison,

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

, Richie Cole, and

Dr. Lonnie Smith Lonnie Smith (July 3, 1942 – September 28, 2021), styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, was an American jazz Hammond B3 organist who was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. He recorded albums with saxophonist Lou Donaldson for Blue Note be ...

. He has also performed with the orchestras of the American Musical Theater of San Jose,

Opera San Jose Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

, and TheatreWorks. Vandivier and Nate Pruitt achieved growing recognition in the 1980s in A Little Night Music, a South Bay sextet led by keyboardist Ed Manning. That group appeared at a number of international jazz festivals and recorded two albums - ''Late One Night'' (1983) (includes Matt Finders and Tuck and Patti) and ''Sitting Ducks'' (1985). Another musical pairing solidified into a group called Threesome with bassist Benny Rietveld, best known for his work with

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

and Miles Davis. In 1994 they took the name Primary Colors and recorded the band's 1999 debut album ''We Know How It Feels'' (Avatar Productions).

Discography

* ''Spirit of the Room'' (2004) * ''Straight Ahead'' (2006) * ''Vandivier'' (CD Baby, 2008) * ''Under One Roof'' (Avatar Productions, 2016)

References

External links

Official site

Primary Colors
* Vandivier Video Clip {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandivier, Rick Living people 1954 births American jazz guitarists 20th-century American guitarists