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Richard Wyands

A fine pianist whose chord voicings are a little reminiscent of Red Garland, Richard Wyands has spent most of his career as a sideman. He started working in local clubs when he was 16, graduated from San Francisco State College, and gained experience playing in the San Francisco Bay area. Wyands, who was a sideman on a few early dates for Fantasy, spent time accompanying Ella Fitzgerald (1956) and Carmen McRae. He moved to New York in 1958, where he played with Roy Haynes, Charles Mingus (1959), Gigi Gryce's quintet, Oliver Nelson, Etta Jones, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Gene Ammons, among others. Wyands was associated with Kenny Burrell, with whom he toured extensively during 1964-1977, and has played with many other top musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Zoot Sims, Frank Foster, the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, Benny Carter, Ernie Andrews, and Milt Hinton, among others. Richard Wyands has also headed his own trios, but has only had a handful of sessions as a leader thus far, including a 1978 date for Storyville and sessions for DIW (1992) and Criss Cross (1995).

Richard Wyands: As Long As There's Music

Read "As Long As There's Music" reviewed by AAJ Staff

by AAJ Staff
January 14, 2004

If you could use some joy in your life, try As Long As There’s Music, a piano trio CD featuring pianist Richard Wyands with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Grady Tate.

Mr. Wyands has the storytelling aspect of music down pat. Whether it is the romantic conflict in “What’s New" (solo piano), the crisp swing of “Focus," or the exquisite evolution of love in “Stairway to the Stars," he reveals the action, the emotion, and the spirit of ...

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Album Review

Richard Wyands: As Long As There's Music

Read "As Long As There's Music" reviewed by Mike Neely

by Mike Neely
December 8, 2003

With the help of several independent labels and some of the best bassists and drummers in the business, Richard Wyands has been quietly building a superb body of jazz piano trio recordings. Amazing enough, As Long As There’s Music is his first American recording as a leader. Other trio recordings have been released by European labels such as Steeplechase and Criss Cross. On this outing, Wyands is accompanied by bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Grady Tate - many a pianist’s ...

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Album Review

Richard Wyands: Half and Half

by C. Andrew Hovan
November 1, 2000

Although he’s been a steadfast mainstream performer since the 1950s, pianist Richard Wyands has recorded surprisingly very few times under his own name. To my account, the only currently available discs by Wyands as a leader are The Arrival for Japanese DIW/Disc Union, Get Out of Town on SteepleChase and the previous Criss Cross side Reunited. Five years separate Half and Half from its predecessor, although the noble results seem to have made the wait somehow worth it in the ...

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Album Review

Richard Wyands: Half and Half

by David A. Orthmann
August 1, 2000

Although his resume includes stints with major jazz figures such as Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, and Eric Dolphy, it wasn’t until the 1990s that pianist Richard Wyands had the opportunity to consistently record as a leader. A number of fine discs on the Criss Cross, SteepleChase and DIW labels displayed Wyands’ skills as a strong, imaginative soloist in the swing-to-bop mode, who does some of his best work in the classic trio format.

His latest release on Criss Cross, Half ...

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Performance / Tour

Lisle Atkinson's Neo Bass Ensemble Meets "Ellington" Featuring Valerie Capers, Danny Mixon And Richard Wyands @ Symphony Space, June 10, 8pm

Source: The Cinarae Group
June 5, 2011

Lisle Atkinson's NEO BASS Ensemble, a unique, multi-bass ensemble, features the bass as “lead" instrument, putting the full range of the double bass on display: from lead instrument, harmonic front line, solo and rhythm section. Founded by well- respected leader, Lisle Atkinson and his wife and fellow bassist, Karen Atkinson, The NEO BASS Ensemble's annual summer fetes at Symphony Space have featured such stellar Jazz names as Ron Carter and Richard Davis. In its' 11th year, NEO BASS Meets ELLINGTON ...
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Music Industry

DREAMWORLD featuring CURTIS FULLER, RICHARD WYANDS, CHARLES DAVIS, VIRGIL JONES AND OTHERS IN BALTIMORE.

Source: All About Jazz

SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2001, AN ENSEMBLE CALLED DREAMWORLD WILL PERFORM AT THE DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. THE GROUP FEATURES SPECIAL GUEST: CURTIS FULLER - TROMBONE, VIRGIL JONES - TRUMPET, CHARLES DAVIS - TENOR AND BARITONE SAXOPHONES AND LEROY WILLIAMS - DRUMS. THE CORE OF THE BAND IS THE LEGENDARY RICHARD WYANDS - PIANO, PAUL BROWN - BASS, ERIC KENNEDY - DRUMS AND VOCALS AND KELLY SHEPHERD - ALTO AND SOPRANO SAXOPHONES. THE CONCERT IS A BENEFIT FOR THE ...
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