Album Notes

- "Rick Blessing is a wonderful vocalist and songwriter"..."one of those effortless voices that is smooth as silk and right on pitch." -Bud Kopeman, All About Jazz

- "Blessing sings fourteen original songs for this project that all reach his audience as if they were long-affixed standards from the past. His songwriting skills have that effect." -Jim Santella, L.A.Jazz Scene

- "It takes a bunch of chutzpah to create a musical persona and bring it off on disc and in an on stage act successfully, and singer Rick Blessing has essentially done just that." -Michaele P. Gladstone, All About Jazz

ABOUT RICK

RICK BLESSING over the years has sung with a number of jazz groups throughout the United States and Europe. His father, a career Air Force jet pilot, gave the sixteen year old the chance to begin singing with bands that played all over various bases where his family was stationed.

After college, Rick joined the military and shortly began a stint as an entertainer in the Special Services Branch. As some years passed and musical trends changed, his personal love for that swing music of the 50’s Sinatra era, never wavered. By 2000, it seemed that swing music’s dramatic disappearance all around, re-sparked in him the desire to do something.

While appearing around the country as a Jazz singer, Blessing yearned to enter the studio. However, instead of re-recording an album of standards, he wanted to produce something new, but in the classic style. “Those wonderful songs have been recorded and re-recorded so many times; I wondered why not try something different?” The heart of this project was to hopefully inspire others to pick up the torch utilizing the influences, arrangements and techniques from a bygone era to create new songs. “It’s been done with Rock n Roll for over 30 years, why not try with swing?"

Having seen success as a published songwriter and with a vision of wanting to turn a new generation on to this music, Rick began to write in the style of the old standards.

It became a real labor of love. Never once compromising the integrity of his vision, he patiently pieced together the right producers and arrangers as well as a line up of top notch jazz artists such as Larry Koonse and Ron Stout, only then to jump behind the mic.

"I'M JUST THE GUY FOR YOU” is a CD that features 14 original tunes. The kind of tunes that will have you whistling them down the street!

Rick is currently performing his album along with the standards all over Southern California.

“YOU ARE A TALENTED GUY, RICK ... GREAT SONGS!" – SMOKEY ROBINSON

© 2007 Rick Blessing