About Me
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Long Island, NY native, Rich Lamanna, student of the saxophone since the age of 10, almost immediately began making music professionally with a 9 piece R&B band, Nostalgia, whose repertoire varied from Artie Shaw to The Average White Band. Growing up in the 60's and 70's, his earliest influences were the usual blend of Rock and R&B of the era and the Sinatra, Big Band and Spike Jones records his dad would listen to. When he first listened to Coltrane, inspiration was sparked and a life long commitment to studying and understanding jazz ensued. An instrumental performance major, composition minor, Rich graduated from the "Berklee College of Music" (1979). While there he was a member of the Phil Wilson's International Dues Band and subbed in Herb Pomoroy's band. Mentored under Phil Woods, Joe Viola and Andy McGhee and fresh out of Berklee he performed with the 60 piece Contemporary Orchestra of Peru, in Lima, directed by Jamie Delgado Aparicio. A professional musician for over 35 years, he has toured South America, the Caribbean and the U.S. with his ensemble and other groups. In 2000 his debut "Introspective" was released with national artists Alex Acuna ("Weather Report", Pablo Casals), Kenwood Dennard (Miles Davis, George Benson, Sting, U-2, Dizzy Gillespie), Othello Molineaux (Santana, Ahmad Jamal, Herbie Hancock, Monty Alexander). Now residing in the Capital District of NY, local performances include the Lake George Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, Lark Fest, The Egg and the Smooth Jazz Festival. Rich is in an endless search for new sounds and his recent battle with Embouchure Dystonia has ignited new explorations with the Synthophone and steel drum. He is an original and eclectic jazz artist versed in idioms from bop to afro-latin and experimental jazz, scoring rave reviews from those who hear his music and compositions.
