 Rick Germanson©Andrea Canter Nearly qualifying as a native son, pianist Rick Germanson brings his unique sense of harmony, movement, and drama back to the Artists Quarter in St. Paul, October 31-November 1. Appearing here nearly annually, his multi-layered improvisations and shifting rhythms blend the strong two-handed attack of Tatum, Peterson, and Tyner with the lyricism of Evans, along with a complex, dense approach to improvisation that is all his own. His octave-spanning chords, often in tandem right and left, cover the keyboard at least as often as his single note runs; his rhythms and dynamics can shift in sudden and sweeping cascades like a windstorm swirling on a sandy dune. With rich chord structures suggesting how Van Cliburn might approach jazz, Rick’s arrangements of standards and original compositions provide enough melody to follow the line but sufficient abstraction to constantly provoke his fellow musicians to add new layers of harmony and rhythm. Initially a classical pianist, Milwaukean Rick Germanson attended the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music where he studied with David Hazeltine, assimilating the bop canon of Wynton Kelly, Sonny Clark and Cedar Walton, and the post bop influences of Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner. “What’s interesting,” he says, “is that I was always attracted to the more modernist school of playing…I heard Wynton Marsalis’ Black Codes and was turned on by Kenny Kirkland’s solos. I wanted to play like that…”
Germanson is well on his way. After gigging in Milwaukee with Frank Morgan (who was living there at the time) and a year touring European jazz festivals in Morgan’s band, he returned to play the Milwaukee clubs and was introduced to Latin grooves by percussionist Luis Diaz. About this time Germanson hooked up with trumpeter Brian Lynch and expanded his horizons throughout the Midwest. After winning the 1996 Grand Prize in the American Pianist Association Jazz Piano Competition, Rick relocated to New York with a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Jaki Byard. Since then he has moved in the fast company of such jazz virtuosos as Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Mickey Roker, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Henderson, Tom Harrell, Eric Alexander, Craig Handy, Joe Locke, George Coleman and Slide Hampton; with the Mingus Big Band and Louis Hayes’ Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band; and with vocalists Marlena Shaw, Carla Cook, and Kevin Mahogany.  Kenny Horst©Andrea Canter Rick’s debut recording, Heights (Fresh Sound/New Talent), prompted All About Jazz to name him “Best New Talent New York” for 2004. Bill Donaldson (Cadence) noted, “Without ostentation and with clearly conceived logic… Germanson makes clear to his listeners the narratives of his music. Indeed, one of Germanson's trademarks seems to be his transitioning between tempos to add interest to his arrangements.” Germanson’s own compositions bring his gigs to the “heights” of modern jazz: For example, “Smokehouse Blues” is a sophisticated, swinging blues worthy of Oscar Peterson at his best; “Daytona” indeed is like a great stockcar race that tears up and down the full keyboard, featuring both densely developed structures and fleeting staccato passages; “In the Cut” tips a hand to Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’” with a bluesy swing. In 2005, Germanson released another gem, You Tell Me, again on Fresh Sound/New Talent. Picking up where Heights left off, the second CD presents a set of mostly original compositions that display the richly textured ideas of an ever-evolving pianist. Is there an intentional link between Heights and You Tell Me? Says Germanson, “You Tell Me is a natural, organic progression from Heights. It encompasses an amalgamation of everything that I have been working on or influenced by since the recording of Heights, however, not in a pre-conceived notion. The tunes and arrangements and improvisation are reflective of who I am now as an artist.”  Jay Young©Andrea Canter Rick not only gets to the Artists Quarter frequently, he appears on local songstress Carole Martin’s latest recording, Songs From My Heart, which was recorded at the AQ. What’s the appeal of the AQ? “The Artists' Quarter is a great place to play because of the environment. You have a very savy jazz audience in St. Paul, real fans, so that makes it fun. The focus in the club is strictly on the music and the musicians. Kenny and Dawn (Horst) set the precedent and therefore everyone treats you well; the staff makes you feel welcome and comfortable...I always have a great time at the AQ!” And we always have a great time listening to Rick’s treatment of standards as well as his original compositions that display what Jazz Times described as his “tons of technique, taste and a clarity of right-hand runs, an appreciation for complex rhythms and a love for Latin.” Luckily for those of us in the Twin Cities, Rick is accumulating his frequent flyer points with another pair of AQ dates this Halloween weekend, October 31-November 1. With bassist Jay Young and drummer/AQ owner Kenny Horst, his tricks will be our treats. Live or on record, Rick Germanson “performs with delicate grace...using just the right touch to evoke a variety of textures” (Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz).
The Artists Quarter is located in the lower level of the Hamm Building, 7th Place and St. Peter, in downtown St. Paul; visit www.artistsquarter.com or call (651) 292-1359. Sets begin at 9 pm. Visit Rick’s website at www.rickgermanson.com
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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