It’s always been about the music

Richard A. James performer and composer.  

many styles:  jazz and  blues, latin, pop/rock  reggae, ragtime and some classical

instruments of choice:   piano, keyboards, electric and acoustic bass and vocals

Richard James is an innovative and talented artist who has far-ranging interests. For example, he was lead music contributor from 1996 through 2001 for the amazingly  popular     bluemountain.com  website (over a hundred million hits a month).  He was constantly called upon to create short pieces to accompany the greeting cards which were abundantly available on the site.  It was challenging and exhilarating, to be sure.

Richard has a background in classical and jazz piano, studying privately in New York, beginning at age 6. He studied string bass in San Diego for several years with Bert Turetzky and played in many local orchestras. “It was great exposure to the classics….

He has performed extensively in nightclubs and worked countless private engagements, and concert situations. Richard has played in virtually all the major spots around San Diego, including the Civic Theatre and Symphony Hall as well as the major hotels and casinos all throughout the greater San Diego area.  Some of the shows he has worked are Grease, Meet Me in St. Louis, Pia Zadora, South Pacific, Sugar Babies as well as numerous productions for Starlight and the Old Globe. He has played with such jazz and blues greats as Terry Gibbs, Charles McPherson, Illinois Jacquett, Big Mama Thornton, Barbara Morrison.

In the late seventies and early eighties he played bass with the Jimmy and Jeanie Cheatham ensemble at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel. “The jam session every Sunday evening was definitely a “happening thing.”  He is currently Musical Director at the One Heart – One Mind Center for Spiritual Living in Poway. He has performed in some of the best spots around town, either solo, or with his trio (pno, bs, drs), including the La Valencia Hotel and Eddie V’s in La Jolla, the US Grant, Sheraton, Croce’s to name a few……And, in addition to composition and performance activities, Richard has been taking on various recording projects at his studio, which has been graced with the purchase of a lovely, brand-new Steinway “B”, which, “records beautifully. Piano players  love it.” To sum things up, “keep it fun and creative. Follow your dream.”