 International soloist, jazz and chamber musican Rex Richardson has emerged as an important voice in music, both as a trumpeter and a composer. Since 1995, he has recorded and toured internationally with the critically acclaimed Rhythm & Brass, an ensemble with a reputation as one of the finest brass groups in North America. He also toured North America and Japan with the late jazz legend Joe Henderson’s Quintet and Sextet, and Europe with William Russo’s Chicago Jazz Ensemble.
In recent years Richardson has become increasingly active as a jazz and classical soloist. He has appeared as a guest artist with dozens of important ensembles throughout the world, including the symphony orchestras of Guangzhou (China), Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), Phoenix, Omaha, Rochester, Syracuse, and Oregon; the U.S. Navy Band and Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; the Athens (Greece) Jazz Orchestra, the Sydney (Australia) All Stars Big Band, and the Navy Commodores Jazz Ensemble. He has given recitals and masterclasses at the Xinghai Conservatory in China, the University of Melbourne and the Sydney Conservatory in Australia, the University of Thessaloniki (Greece), the Royal Northern College of Music (England), the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University. He has return engagments in Greece with the Athens Jazz Orchestra and other ensembles this fall, and has been invited to appear as a featured soloist and clinician at the 2005 Melbourne International Brass Festival in Australia.
Richardson has appeared as soloist and clinician at conferences hosted by the International Trumpet Guild, the International Trombone Association, Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, and the NAMM show in Los Angeles. He was the featured artist for the Australia Trumpet Guild’s 2004 Conference in Sydney, appearing as solo recitalist, guest soloist, and clinician. His international jazz festival appearances as a soloist and bandleader include those of Chicago, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and several in Italy. He has appeared on dozens of albums and has released two jazz recordings as a leader for the IGMOD and D’note labels.
Richardson has gained a reputation as a champion of new music. His debut classical CD entitled “Shadows and Reflections,” featuring all-new virtuoso trumpet music by American composers, is scheduled for release in late 2004. He premiered solo works composed or arranged for him, as well as two of his own works, at the 2004 and 2005 ITG Conferences. An enthusiastic review of the ’05 performance praised the “bravura display of technical and musical fireworks.” (www.trumpetguild.org)
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