Rickee Pullums

Rickee Pullums is a native of Chicago. His musical journey began in 1999, when he started to learn oboe...actually, it started sometime in the early 90s when he learned how to play "Chopsticks" on the piano...Eventually becoming a flautist (and bassoonist, and clarinetist, and sax player, and amatuer violist...lol), he was exposed to many genres and forms all at once. He is a child of fancy and wonder, the product of an imagination gone wild. He lives in "beautiful moments", and as a musician strives to create beautiful moment after beautiful moment. His affinity to lyricism and consonance can be attributed to his influence by Tori Amos (to whom he has been compared), Maurice Ravel, Elgar, his love of musical theater (especially Sondheim), and many modern Gospel artists (namely his mother, to whom he owes the credit for his fundamental musical development...as well as life!). The innovation in his works come from his exposure to Stravinsky, Prokofiev, the fusion string quartet BOND, and his close work with his teacher and mentor Nicole Mitchell. He has been seen on stage as a soloist with Nicole Mitchell and the Black Earth Ensemble, with the Ravinia Jazz Scholars, the Merit School of Music Wind Ensemble, and many others. As a performer, he strives for excellence in technique and emotional connection with his audience. As a composer, he strives to create beautiful moments with lush harmonies and sometimes brooding atmospheres. Rickee tries to incorporate many different sounds into his work, based on his influences. The strangeness of the Orient, the haunting atmosphere of Afrika, the beautiful-moment-filled sounds of French Impressionism, and EPIC-NESS are all things you will find in his music.