Biography
Logan Richardson, an alto saxophonist born in the United States and now based in Paris, stands out for his bold, boundary-crossing approach to jazz. He entered the profession at age 16 and gained wider attention once he settled in New York, where his first album, the post-bop-styled Cerebral Flow, appeared in 2007. His collaborators have included Joe Chambers, Billy Hart, Butch Morris, Greg Osby, Stefon Harris, the World Saxophone Quartet, Arthur Blythe, and Jason Moran, and he also belongs to the Next Collective. Although firmly grounded in the jazz lineage, Richardson has shown himself an eclectic and forward-looking musician whose recordings, among them 2015’s Shift featuring guitarist Pat Metheny and 2018’s Blues People, reveal his interest in fusing jazz with intense rock elements, hip-hop, electronic pulses, and Americana.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1980, Richardson grew up with parents who collected recordings spanning vintage soul and R&B, Motown, funk, pop, rock, and gospel. He started formal training on flute at 12 and took up alto saxophone two years later while attending the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. His introduction to jazz came through a live performance by Max Roach at the American Jazz Museum. During high school he worked with visiting artists Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster, Houston Person, Max Roach, Shirley Scott, Clark Terry, and Bobby Watson, and he participated in programs such as Jazz at Aspen, where he met Ray Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, Christian McBride, and Renee Rosnes. Professional work began at 16, including an early engagement with Jay McShann. At 19 he departed Kansas City for the Berklee College of Music in Boston and later for New School University in New York, where his teachers included Hart, Greg Tardy, and Chambers as well as private instructors Gary Bartz and Vincent Herring. He formed his own group in 2005, the same year he appeared on Chambers’ The Outlaw, and in 2006 he played in Tardy’s studio ensemble on Steps of Faith.
Richardson’s first album under his own name, Cerebral Flow, was released by Fresh Sound New Talent in 2007 and was followed a year later by Ethos on Inner Circle Music. Since 2009 he has been a member of drummer Nasheet Waits’ band Equality, an ensemble that included Waits on the earlier Ethos sessions. In 2011 he contributed to Hart’s widely praised Sixty-Eight. Alongside performing, he conducted teaching clinics in New York. The Next Collective’s Cover Art came out on Concord Jazz in 2013, and that same year Richardson appeared on Gerald Clayton’s Life Forum.
Eventually dividing his time between New York City and Paris, Richardson made the French capital his permanent base in 2014. He joined the Blue Note roster in 2015 and assembled an all-star lineup for his label debut, Shift, issued in early 2016; the sessions featured Waits on drums, bassist Harish Raghavan, Jason Moran on piano and Rhodes, and Pat Metheny on guitar. His fourth leader date, the expansive Blues People, followed in 2018.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1980, Richardson grew up with parents who collected recordings spanning vintage soul and R&B, Motown, funk, pop, rock, and gospel. He started formal training on flute at 12 and took up alto saxophone two years later while attending the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. His introduction to jazz came through a live performance by Max Roach at the American Jazz Museum. During high school he worked with visiting artists Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster, Houston Person, Max Roach, Shirley Scott, Clark Terry, and Bobby Watson, and he participated in programs such as Jazz at Aspen, where he met Ray Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, Christian McBride, and Renee Rosnes. Professional work began at 16, including an early engagement with Jay McShann. At 19 he departed Kansas City for the Berklee College of Music in Boston and later for New School University in New York, where his teachers included Hart, Greg Tardy, and Chambers as well as private instructors Gary Bartz and Vincent Herring. He formed his own group in 2005, the same year he appeared on Chambers’ The Outlaw, and in 2006 he played in Tardy’s studio ensemble on Steps of Faith.
Richardson’s first album under his own name, Cerebral Flow, was released by Fresh Sound New Talent in 2007 and was followed a year later by Ethos on Inner Circle Music. Since 2009 he has been a member of drummer Nasheet Waits’ band Equality, an ensemble that included Waits on the earlier Ethos sessions. In 2011 he contributed to Hart’s widely praised Sixty-Eight. Alongside performing, he conducted teaching clinics in New York. The Next Collective’s Cover Art came out on Concord Jazz in 2013, and that same year Richardson appeared on Gerald Clayton’s Life Forum.
Eventually dividing his time between New York City and Paris, Richardson made the French capital his permanent base in 2014. He joined the Blue Note roster in 2015 and assembled an all-star lineup for his label debut, Shift, issued in early 2016; the sessions featured Waits on drums, bassist Harish Raghavan, Jason Moran on piano and Rhodes, and Pat Metheny on guitar. His fourth leader date, the expansive Blues People, followed in 2018.
Albums
Singles
