News
PAT JOINS FORCES WITH YOUNG MUSICIAN LOGAN RICHARDSON
2.29.2016
I am always on the lookout for the musicians who are going to carry the torch forward into the next period. There seems to be no shortage of fluency and skill among younger players. Maybe more than at anytime in this music’s history, there are plenty of people on just about every instrument who can negotiate the language with a real command while illuminating how the music has evolved over the past century through their various influences.
But more and more I realize that as a fan of the music, what I really look for is someone who is going to tell me something about their life and their point of view that is unique. What I search for above everything else is someone who has a strong artistic identity and individuality, and especially, an urgency in their desire to communicate what they have discovered to their listeners.
That passion, especially in combination with a reservoir of personal insight and the deep requisite knowledge of the music itself, seems to be the essential ingredient that informs the artistry of every compelling artist regardless of genre.
Logan Richardson embodies this description completely. While he is unquestionably one of the best new alto players to emerge of his generation, it is his overall artistic vision that impresses the most.
For me, he is one of the most significant musicians to emerge in recent years. He has an instantly recognizable vibe as a composer and bandleader and what he offers as a player is connected to a strong feeling that is fresh and somehow utterly of this moment in time.
I first became aware of Logan when I started hearing about him when he was a teenager. We both have strong Kansas City roots and even when he was a high school student all the best musicians in town were already talking about him. And I recognize the KC thing that I know so well in everything with him. When I hear this recording, I can see and dream about places around the city in an almost cinematic way. I feel an unmistakable connection to Logan that is traceable to our shared geography.
Logan communicates. He offers music in a way that invites his listeners to understand things in ways that they may not have considered before. I look forward to following his stories over what promises to be a long and exciting career. It was great to play with him this excellent new record, SHIFT.