Waldron Mahdi Ricks

Waldron Mahdi Ricks

"Waldron Mahdi Ricks is an impeccably artful trumpet player, a jazz master in his own right." – Spirit Driven

A chunk of my jazz trumpet playing experience happened before I attended formal school. I spent the summer of '86 studying with Marcus Belgrave in my home town of Detroit, as well as in New York City with trumpeter Wallace Roney. Roney taught me the fundamentals of trumpet playing as did jazz great Barry Harris’ Bebop class and playing with tenor legend Percy France's Organ Trio at Harlem’s famed historical jazz club Showman’s Lounge.

I was all of 19 when Percy France began instructing me on jazz pedagogy. I played at all the Harlem clubs at the time: The Baby Grand, Minton’s, Small’s, and The St Nick’s Pub, in edition to 60’s Bluenote recording artist Jon Patton at the La Famille jazz club in Harlem. During this time I also shared the stage with Art Blakey on more than one occasion, and played a duet with drummer Arthur Taylor who had performed with Donald Byrd and a host of others. Before I was twenty, I had led my own band at local clubs throughout the city. In 1990, I moved to Boston to attend the Berklee School of Music, and then transferred to New England Conservatory to gain a deeper understanding of musical theory.

In Boston I performed with my own group live on WGBH radio, WERS radio, and with other bands throughout New England, including The Charlie Kholhase Quintet, and Salim Wasington’s Roxbury Blues Aesthetic. As a band leader, I played at several historical venues including Conollys and Wallys, and was a member of the John Coltrane Memorial Ensemble from 1995-2000 led by trombonist Bill Lowe whose members included Billy Pierce on sax, Cecil McBee on bass, and Bill Lowe on bone. Other guests included Frank Foster, Danilio Perez, Alan Dawson, Brother Blue, Terry Lynn Carrington, Avery Sharp and the organist, Shirley Scott. I was a founding member of the Trumpet Kings tribute band that performed at Berklee annually from 1997-2007: a four trumpet ensemble that played the music of Armstrong, Davis and Gillespie– Jon Faddis headlined.

I returned to New York and began playing with various groups. That summer I was fourth trumpet with the Count Basie Orchestra. Other performances included Buster Williams at Avery Fisher Hall, Chip White Ensemble at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and the Mike Longo State Of The Art Ensemble that performs throughout the tri-state area and at the Dizzy Gillespie Bahi Center for the Arts. I also played with David Murray at the Knitting Factory, Salim Washington’s band at Sister’s Place in Brooklyn, The Jazz Gallery in lower Manhattan, Impulse and J-curve recording artist Greg Tardy at The Jazz Gallery, tenor recording artist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein at Smoke, The Charlie Persip Big Band at Mintons, and The Curtis Fuller sextet New England Tour 06.

As a band leader, I’ve played at Smalls Jazz Club and have made regular appearances at The 55 Bar . I’ve also played Fat Cat, Minton's, Cleopatra’s Needle, The West End Gate, Duke Ocean Grill in Rockland County, N.Y., and Cecil's Jazz Club in East Orange, N.J.

On tour in Europe in 1993 I played with the James Carter Quartet. Waldron Ricks Quartet in Toulon France 1996 opened for Josuha Redman and Don Pullan and played in Massalis and Nice which produced a live recording– The 4TET.  I played on tour in Norway 2007 with NY based musicians. In 2009 I performed in Haiti for its first Jazz festival. In 2010 I toured to Europe with Jorge Sylvester's ACE Collective band in Austria which produced a 2013 CD release "Spirit Driven". In 2011 and early 2012 I toured Italy as a solo artist in Rome and Milan.