Jazz Articles

Rick DellaRatta Quintet: Jazz at Christmas Time

by C. Michael Bailey
December 3, 2002

...a bit of Holiday verse...

Pianist and vocalist Rick DellaRatta provides the Christmas season with a breezy collection of holiday favorites delivered with sincere urbanity. The highlight of the disc is the solo piano version of the Mahalia Jackson classic "Go Tell It On The Mountain." Here, better than anywhere else, does DellaRatta display his considerable talent. He digs deep into the blues of the song, uncovering its core of struggle and victory. "Greensleeves [What Child is This]" is taken ...

Rick DellaRatta Trio: Live In Brazil And At The Blue Note

by C. Michael Bailey
March 1, 2000

At The Holiday Inn Lounge. All music is fundamentally good, it is just that some music is better. This collection falls under the “good” category. This is a 2 CD live set of pianist / vocalist Rick DellaRatta and his trio, consisting of René Hart on bass and the late Denis Charles on drums with additional support from guitarist Dustan Galas and Walt Szymanski on Trumpet. The performances lack the intimacy of a small venue and are slightly self-indulgent in ...

Rick DellaRatta Trio: Live in Brazil & The Blue Note

by Jack Bowers
April 1, 1999

Pianist DellaRatta’s trio makes a dreadful start on this country–hopping two–disc set with the leader’s lightweight original, “Living Inside a Daydream,” on which his ho–hum vocal is accompanied either by a string section or a synthesized imitation of same. The other numbers on Disc 1 are much more appealing, even though DellaRatta sings again on his perky composition, “Little Song.” DellaRatta sings on every selection on Disc 2, opening with another of his compositions, “Say You’ll Be Mine,” which, like ...