Rick DellaRatta
{{Notability|Biography|date=October 2023}}{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Rick Della Ratta
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|10|23}}
| birth_place = Schenectady, New York, U.S.
| genre = Jazz
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = Piano
| years_active = 1980s–present
| label = Stella, Origin
| website = {{URL|rickdellaratta.com}}
}}
Rick DellaRatta is an American jazz singer and pianist.
Career
The oldest of five children, DellaRatta studied at the New England Conservatory, earning a bachelor's degree in Piano Performance and a master's degree in Jazz Composition. He studied jazz piano with Jackie Byard, Kenny Werner, Charlie Banacos, and Richie Bierach and classical piano with Thomas Stumpf.
In 1997 Rick DellaRatta with Eddie Gomez, Dave Liebman, and Lenny White released the album Thought Provoking. In 2000 he was nominated for a MAC award for Recording of the Year {{cite web|last1=Della Ratta|first1=Rick|title=MAC Award Nominees and Winners|url=http://macnyc.com/2000-mac-award-winners/|website=MAC Award Nominees and Winners|publisher=Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs|accessdate=13 March 2016}}
DellaRatta witnessed the 9/11 attacks from a rooftop in New York City. While watching the unfolding tragedy in front of him, he was inspired to write a poem which later became known as "Jazz for Peace".{{Cite web |date=1 June 2023 |title=Jazz for Peace |url=https://www.battingthebreeze.com/jazz-for-peace/ |website=Batting the Breeze}} Rick didn't realise it at the time, but Jazz for Peace would become a worldwide movement promoting peace through jazz.
Discography
- Take It or Leave It (Stella, 1995)
- Thought Provoking (Origin, 1997)
- Live in Brazil and the Blue Note (Origin, 1998)
- Alone Together (Origin, 2000)
- Jazz at Christmas Time (Origin, 2001)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.rickdellaratta.com/ Official site]
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Category:American jazz pianists
Category:American male jazz pianists
Category:20th-century American pianists
Category:21st-century American pianists