Biography
This famous Canadian jazz saxophonist founded the group The Shuffle Demons who are notable for their fusion of hard bop and rap combined with exotic costumes and a no-holds-barred performance style. They also composed “Hockey Night in Canada” — a defining track for our entire nation!
With a 27 year musical history, and dozens of awards to his name, Richard is a highly sought after session player and sideman. He has written horn and string arrangements for many artists, including Kathleen Edwards, Blue Rodeo, Taj Mahal, and Hawksley Workman.
In 2003, Richard released his debut instrumental jazz album, Tales from the Blue Lounge, which won the Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year at the 2003 JUNO Awards. That same year, Richard was also nominated for the Grand Prix award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Moment in Time, Richard’s second jazz release, dropped in 2005 and features 10 hard swinging modern jazz tracks backed by some of jazz’s finest drummers and bassists. It was warmly received by listeners and critics, who referred to it as “one of the best sounding CDs of the year” (NOW Magazine). Since then Richard has released two follow-up albums full of rich, inventive, spontaneous jazz: Kensington Suite in 2007 and Free Spirit in 2010.
Currently, Richard leads several varied groups including his jazz quintet the Funk Explosion and electronic groove group Astrogroove.
Source: AllMusic.com, Wikipedia
Relationship
- Richard wrote the horn arrangements for Blue Rodeo's Palace of Gold record, and also played the alto and baritone sax.
- Richard led the Bushwhack Horns for Blue Rodeo's Greatest Hits and Palace of Gold tour.
Both Richard Underhill and Blue Rodeo were nominated for Juno Awards in 2003; Richard for Contemporary Jazz Album and Blue Rodeo for Single of the Year and Group of the Year. - Richard plays the saxophone on "To Love Somebody" and the reworked version of "After the Rain" on Blue Rodeo's Greatest Hits CD.
- Both Colin Cripps (of the Jim Cuddy Band) and Richard Underhill played on Stephen Fearing's That's How I Walk CD.
- Richard Underhill, Colin Cripps, Richard Bell (who played on Bob Egan's The Promise), and Sarah Harmer all appear on Colin Linden's Rhythm of Love CD.
- Richard wrote the horn arrangements for Blue Rodeo's Palace of Gold record, and also played the alto and baritone sax.
Quotes
"The horns have taken over ... I play half as much. I can just move into my Elvis mode, sit and sing and not worry about playing much guitar - I listen to the band and just float away. I love it." - Greg Keelor in the Daily Press on the Bushwack Horns' contribution to the Palace of Gold tour