Album Notes

Trio Ricardo is the latin jazz project of Hungarian pianist Richárd “Ricardo” Révész – one of the rare breed of European musicians who can play salsa and other latin styles with a truly authentic feel.

The musical mastermind of the band is Ricardo whose original compositions make up most of the trio’s repertoire. Ricardo developed a love for latin jazz early in his musical career which inevitably drew his attention to giants like Michel Camilo, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans and Chucho Valdés. Before graduating at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest (with a major in jazz piano), Ricardo had spent two years as a piano player on a cruise ship which gave him the unique opportunity to play with latin musicians on a daily basis over many months. After graduation, he founded Ricardo Salsa Club, a 13-piece latin jazz orchestra consisting mostly of his fellow college graduates. The band soon gained recognition in local jazz and salsa clubs, developing a mixed and growing audience of sophisticated jazz fans and salsa dance aficionados. In 2007 they released their first CD titled Escucha Mi Ritmo and Ricardo could further develop his latin jazz chops as the only European member in the band of Vienna-based Dominican percussionist José Ritmo.

While continuing with the Ricardo Salsa Club and teaching piano at the jazz faculty of the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music in Budapest, Ricardo launched Trio Ricardo in 2010 with drummer Péter Szendőfi who is a household name in Hungarian jazz circles. Peter majored in jazz drumming at the Liszt Academy of Music and then studied with masters like Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, Steve Smith, Zach Danziger, Freddie Gruber, Kim Plainfield and Jojo Mayer at the renowned Drummers’ Collective in New York (1995). Besides recording five albums with his own project, the Fusio Group, Péter is an in-demand session drummer in the Hungarian music scene and is also a faculty member at the Kodolanyi College of Music in West Hungary.

When looking for the right bass player for the Trio Ricardo project’s first album, Péter referred Ricardo to Kip Reed, a seasoned US bassist whom he met during his time at the Drummers’ Collective. Kip has performed and recorded with many major artists spanning several genres, including Bebel Gilberto, Ivan Lins and Tania Maria, disco divas Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor, jazz legends Brother Jack McDuff, Larry Coryell and Joe Lovano. His love of Brazilian, African and other world-beat music combined with his background in rock, funk, and jazz make him one of the most in-demand bass players on the US East and North Coasts.

The three came together for a brief Hungarian tour and recorded an album’s worth of Ricardo’s original compositions in January 2010. Titled “Menu 890”, the album captures the unique musical encounter of these excellent players and blends their diverse musical and cultural backgrounds into an exciting latin jazz album.