Rick Zunigar- Guitarist: Press

While dating back a few years, Clouds is an album of hard-hitting post-bop that well deserves a second look. Guitarist Rick Zunigar and his trio are world-class performers and Zunigar, in particular, is an artist who ought to be much more well-known by now.

“Rhumboogie”, the opening track on the disk, won Zunigar the JAZZIZ magazine “Guitars on Fire” grand prize, and that’s no surprise. With a lightening fast theme, and a solo that demonstrates Zunigar’s remarkable dexterity, musicality and ability to build excitement, the track is the perfect introduction to Zunigar’s playing. It establishes Zunigar, in a short five-minute period, as a guitarist of consequence.

While Zunigar’s name may not be well-known, the company he has kept over the years certainly is. He has played with artists including Stevie Wonder, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader, Ray Charles, Roy Ayers and The Crusaders. While his own work demonstrates a predisposition towards post-bop, he is clearly a diverse guitarist, able to fit into a number of musical contexts.

With a style that combines the best of Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, Mick Goodrick, Jim Hall and John Abercrombie, reverential without being imitative, Zunigar emerges, on Clouds, as a voice that is as substantial as his sources, and as unique.

From lyrical linear work to full-bodied chordal passages, Zunigar has it all; a strong sense of rhythm and time; an innate sense of harmony; an economy in his playing that leaves no wasted notes; and a remarkable ability to construct solos that tell a strong story with a firm beginning, middle and end. “Beth’s Blues is a strong example of all these skills.

Throughout the programme of mainly original material, Zunigar also demonstrates strong writing, with a diverse set of tunes that are completely memorable; he writes melodies that stay with you long after the disk has ended.

Bassist Zoltan Dekany and drummer Dave Hocker provide sympathetic support on the majority of the tracks. While the material is Zunigar’s, the approach of this trio is very reminiscent of Pat Metheny’s Trio 99>00 with Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart. On two of the three non-originals, Zunigar dabbles with the organ trio format and, while they are also beautifully done, it is with Dekany and Hocker that the chemistry really happens.

Rick Zunigar is a guitarist waiting to happen; revisiting Clouds reveals a an artist who is at the top of his game; who is now the sum of his influences; and who is no longer an imitator, but rather a peer of the artists who helped mould his sound. He is an important guitarist who deserves broader recognition; why he has not reached a wider audience is a curiosity.

Zunigar is a very fluid player with chops galore. One might hear a hint of other guitar styles like Wes Montgomery but Zunigar is not an imitator, but rather he steadily sets forth loads of improvisational ideas

Zoltan Dekany Trio + Rick Zunigar
The Mansion Hotel, 11th November 2003

Arriving at the Mansion on this particular evening, I was dismayed to find no band (or audience to speak of) in the area normally reserved for jazz on Tuesdays. Suspecting the worst, I accosted the first barman I saw who, happily, pointed me in the direction of the Phoenix Bar where there were already a fair few people waiting in anticipation of American guitarist Rick Zunigar, over from New York on a short UK tour.



I’ve said this before but if given the choice, piano plinking would be my preferred option over guitar plucking... until I heard Mr Zunigar, that is. The word ‘class’ is an over-worked and usually over-the-top term often employed to no good effect by the likes of professional footballers, sports commentators and social club concert chairmen. However, as they say, there are always exceptions to the rule, Rick Zunigar being one of them. Combining brilliantly with Joel Purnell on tenor sax, Rick and the band - featuring John Perry on drums and Zoltan Deckany on acoustic bass - went on to give an awesome display of modern jazz that must have been just about as good as it gets anywhere in the UK.

A transfixed audience looked on as these four wonderful musicians wove together a tapestry of musical magic that sometimes transpired to make time stand still. This sensation of intensity manifested itself in a number of respects, not least of all in that part-way through the second number I became vaguely aware that beads of perspiration were forming on my forehead, but I made no attempt to wipe them away, so confounding was the effect of the music. Oh, didn’t I tell you? There was a ‘door charge’ on this night of wonderment... £3. I would quite cheerfully have paid more, but such is the eagerness with which jazz musicians seek to address their audiences here in Leeds, that there is often no door charge at all, which is astounding when you consider the quality on offer most nights.

For anyone interested in modern jazz or for those who’d like to find out more, get yourselves along to one of the many jazz venues in this fair city that has become home to so many capable musicians! I think you’ll be more than pleasantly surprised.

The sound of the Hammond B-3 organ filled Rosalie & Alva’s Performance Center for the first time Sunday evening, July 30th when the Rick Zunigar Organ Trio performed two very tasty shows. The group featured organist Joe Bagg on Louis Hammond’s marvelous invention, the B-3 organ, along with Rick’s guitar and ball-of-energy Mark Ferber punishing the drums. This group of three kept a nearly full house enthralled with solid jazz sounds for over two hours, playing a superior mix of jazz standards along with originals penned by Rick and Joe.
Highlights of the evening included an arrangement of Miles Davis’ "All Blues." This tune, written in waltz time, was driven by a rhythmic 4/4 feeling from Ferber’s drums. American Songbook standard "Have You Met Miss Jones" cooked along at warp speed turning up the heat under solos by all three musicians. The tempo slowed briefly for a tender ballad penned by Joe Bagg, "Ahimsa," dedicated as a prayer for peace and non-violence.
A brilliant technician and inventive soloist, its a shame that Rick Zunigar is not better known in the entertainment world. His writing, like his guitar licks, shows a tonal creativity one hears in only the most aware players of this instrument. Rick doesn’t need gimmicks like fuzz tone or wah-wah upon which many that play this instrument rely. Rick’s choice of harmonies and phrasing say everything a jazz guitar needs to say. The intertwining of Rick’s guitar with his band mates is a clockwork joy.
Joe Bagg is often heard playing keyboards with Jack Sheldon’s California Cool band. His piano work with groups like Jack’s is always a treat. If you want to hear him at his finest, however, the Hammond organ is where Joe really comes to life! This man’s Hammond speaks a bluesy joy that has evolved over the years since Jimmy Smith first brought acceptance for this instrument to the jazz world.
Mark’s drumming provides the keystone that holds this amazing mix together. Mark Ferber’s choice of rhythm and beat are always complimentary, never too heavy, or overpowering his fellow musicians. Watching Mark play his craft is nearly as much fun as hearing him! His movements are precise as a surgeon as he goes from sticks to mallets to brushes and selects between his battery of percussive devices.

Rick Zunigar Returns!

For his Saturday September 3rd appearance at Rosalie & Alva’s Performance Gallery, guitarist Rick Zunigar provided a taste of the intimate side of his jazz styling, performing in a trio setting with Chris Conlangelo on contrabass and drummer Fritz Wise. Those who attended Rick’s previous Rosalie & Alva’s show on July 30th will remember the amazing interplay between Rick’s guitar and the Hammond B-3 organ of Joe Bagg and while Rick’s Organ Trio is one of the finest in that genre, it was nice to hear Rick as the featured artist in the main spotlight.
Fifty years of "pop" music have proved that anyone can play guitar, but only a special few can really PLAY the guitar. Rick is a fine "straight ahead" jazz musician making his statement with four lighting fast fingers over six strings. Inspired in his youth by Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass, Rick’s improvisations include full chords, skillfully capoed by his ever-moving right hand along with linear note runs of rhythmic and harmonic grace.
Rick’s simpatico sidemen are perfect bookends to frame his guitar mastery. Bassist Conlangelo and drummer Wise hold rock-solid clockwork throughout. Both are excellent soloists in the bargain. Conlangelo covers his big violin’s entire fret board to find just the right notes to express his mind, often pushing fingers high into the cello range for lovely ringing high tones. Fritz Wise relates just as well to his kit of percussive tricks. Wise keeps the beat on skins, cymbals and even at soto voce moments on the metal stand supporting the more traditional instruments in his set.
The evening’s selections were mostly melodies we think of as standards, but in the hands of this polished trio each became an original composition in itself.

A REVIEW OF Hubert Laws, with Rick Zunigar, on Guitar
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3,1989
Reviews | Music

Some Fancy Flute Work


On too many of his albums, the flutist Hubert Laws smothers his solos in goopy pop-jazz arrangements. But in a rare New York engagement through Sunday at the Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Mr. Laws is allowing himself to play some of the daredevil, harmonically intricate material that established him as the leading jazz flutist of his generation.

Mr. Laws, who played with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra in 1968, has technique to spare - a hefty tone that stays warm and rounded from the sultry low resister to the highest notes, dazzling speed and articulation, octave-hopping agility, fluency with bent notes and alternate fingerings. His solos might riffle arpeggios above and below a tune or streak through invented lines; he can match with terse, oblique fragments or make the original melody sing with dramatic urgency.

His opening set on Tuesday started with mainstream jazz and moved to pop-jazz; for the latter, the pianist John Beasley used an electric keyboard while Gary Willis switched from fretless to fretted electric bass.

The first part peaked with a zooming, tour-de-force version of Sonny Rollins's "Airegin," played on piccolo, including an unaccompanied section where Mr. Laws Sprinted in and out of the harmonies, followed by a -fleet guitar solo from Rick Zunigar. Partway through the set, Mr. Laws took a break while a jazz flutist from Amsterdam, Ellen Helmus, played a ballad in a Laws-derived style. Helmus also joined him for the finale, a pop-funk adaptation of Tschaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet"; amid the kitsch, Mr. Law's swooping; skittering solo was an acrobatic delight.

The Rick Zunigar Trio embodied on this disc heralds the state of the jazz organ trio genre at the dawn of the 21st Century. The archetype of this venerated form emerged in the mid '50s and was championed by such major proponents as Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Shirley Scott, Big John Patton, along with guitarists, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, and drummers Grady Tate, Bernard Purdie. Blues-based and always swinging, the organ trio was usually a forum for blowing and was characterized by long solos and exploration of varied moods and soulful expression. From the early '60s, it seems as though just about every local tavern in the Black neighborhoods of the cities of this country had a Hammond B3-based group -- sometimes duos, sometimes trios, sometimes quartets with tenor saxophone or singer. These groups provided a proving ground for young musicians of the day, as well as a satisfying outlet for people who wanted to hear live music which they could relate to. The body of work by the leaders in the organ trio idiom in its heyday has been well-documented, owing to the fact during that era, based on record sales, the organ groups -- most significantly those led by Jimmy Smith -- represented perhaps the most popular genre of jazz.

In the late '60s Larry Young and others ventured into more remote territory, expanding the harmonic palette of the form, but gradually, through the natural evolution of jazz -- particularly because of the advent of jazz fusion which also featured guitar and electronic keyboards, but with a decidedly different style, the organ trio as a recording medium for jazz faded into the background. In recent years, jazz has seen a movement towards a renewed interest in its historical styles and consequently, the recent past has seen a resurgence of interest in the form, spearheaded by new recordings by Jimmy Smith and Joey DeFrancesco, among others. Guitarist Rick Zunigar's conception of the organ trio gives us a present-day look at the genre, filtered through all of the tradition of the past, but also infused with other influences and trends that have their roots in the major jazz movements of the last 30 years.

Featured Artist: Rick Zunigar

CD Title: Organ Trio
Year: 2006
Record Label: Jazzuni
Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic
Musicians: Rick Zunigar (guitar), Bill Heid (Hammond B3 organ), Dave Tull (drums), Joe Bagg (Hammond B3 organ), Mark Feber (drums), Wayne Peet (Hammond B3 organ), Mikal Majeed (Hammond B3 organ), Don Littleton (drums)
Review:
Jazz, jazz fusion, rock, R&B and funk guitarist Rick Zunigar has built a resume any well-respecting musician would salivate over.  In terms of ability, few compare to this multi-dimensional artist.  His discography includes appearances with some of the world’s greatest artists in a wide variety of styles.  Included are Stevie Wonder, Take Six, Little Jimmie Scott, Robert Flack, Roy Ayers, Jermaine Jackson, Michael Franks, Cal Tjader, Eddie Murphy, Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, the Crusaders, and many others.  A short list of some of the other artists he’s worked with includes Sarah Vaughn, Chick Corea, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Coolio, Mary J. Blige, Tootie Heath, Pancho Sanchez, Blue Mitchell, Woody Shaw, Ernie Watts, Rosemary Clooney, Elvin Jones, Joey DeFrancesco and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
 
On Organ Trio Zunigar gets together with some of his favorite Hammond B3 players and drummers for a session of good country blowing that swings like nobody’s business.  The four different trios showcased on this disc – Bill Heid on organ and Dave Tull on drums, Joe Bagg on organ and Mark Feber on drums, and Wayne Peet or Mikal Majeed on organ and Don Littleton on drums – all have one thing in common, a healthy respect for the history of the B3 trio and yet look to find new ways to express music in this once immensely popular ensemble configuration.
 
For example, on Bobby Hutcherson’s “Highway One” Zunigar uses melodic abstraction as a starting point before swinging into lines that hit shifting points of relevant abstraction.  Littleton’s tight and focused drum work pushes Zunigar into rhythmic realms which are both logical and totally imaginative and new at the same time.  Peet’s sweet and understated support allows the guitarist to fully explore harmonic realms unimpeded by heavy comping.  While “the groove” is great, “freedom from the groove” proves to be just as exciting in these musicians’ hands.
 
Joe Bagg’s “Ahimsa” is a study in melding the old with the new.  Similar to Yaya3 in the spirit of the quest being more important than the arrival, this interesting and initially unassuming piece opens up to fuller dimensions as Bagg layers out figures forcing Zunigar into directions away from comfort zones but exciting none-the-less.  Bagg’s own solo is aided by Zunigar’s pursuit of the right note at the right time in accompaniment all the while propelled by Feber’s succinct drumming.  Those looking for more of the tradition will find much to chew on during Miles Davis’ “Old Milestones” and “All Blues.” 
 
This disc will leave you wanting to hear more replays, something very little of today’s music demands.

Tracks: Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum, Look Ahead, Highway One, Ahimsa, Old Milestones, In A Sentimental Mood, All Blues and While You're Sleeping
Artist's Website: http://www.rickzunigar.com/
Reviewed by: Thomas R. Erdmann

Rick Zunigar Organ Trio
2006 Jazzuni 002 www.rickzunigar.com

There seems to be a resurgence in the popularity of the organ trio
featuring guitar, organ and drums. More and more guitarists these
days are turning to this format as their working bands, and none
stand out more than guitarist Rick Zunigar. Zunigar is not only a
great improviser, he is a masterful composer, arranger and band
leader. With Organ Trio, Zunigar has put together an album that is
both traditional and contemporary, and is a showcase for all of his
above mentioned talents.
The musicians gathered for this project are nothing less than
brilliant at all times. With three different drummers: Dave Tull,
Mark Feber and Don Littleon, and four organists: Bill Heid, Joe Bagg,
Wayne Peet and Mikal Majeed, Zunigar has managed to create different
moods on the album that make each track unique and a joy to listen
to. Not only are all of these musicians great players, their
interaction produces a conversational style of improvising that never
sounds like the soloist is being put out front, but more of a cog in
their musical machine.
The tunes on the album are a variety of standards ("Milestones",
"All Blues", "In a Sentimental Mood"), seldom played jazz tunes
(Highway One by Bobby Hutcherson), and originals by Zunigar and Joe
Bagg. Of particular note are the arrangements of "Milestones" and
"Sentimental Mood," both featuring Zunigar’s wonderful chord-melody
playing. There is something for everyone on this album, burning
single- note solos, delicate chord melodies and swinging melodic
solos. It never sounds like the soloists are playing licks or
patterns over the given chord changes, but that they are playing the
tune itself, which allows each tune to have a life of its own.
I think that Organ Trio would be a welcome addition to any
guitarist’s musical library. The playing is great, the arrangements
are fresh, and the musicians are always at their best. What more
could one want from any jazz album?

On "Rick Zunigar Organ Trio" guitarist Rick Zunigar teams up with two other fine musicians: Joe Bagg(Hammond B3 Organ) and Mark Ferber(drums) to produce an outstanding example of elegance and improvisational playfullness. His guitar can be described as sophisticated, shining throughout the album with clarity and precision, gaining even more depth and richness in the trio context where Joe Bagg's B3 organ warm sound offers the perfect contrast. There is no doubt, there is a special empathy between these three master musicians, one that makes the recording sound as one of a kind

organ trio, de rick zunigar

Recuperando el formato del organ trio, aquel estandarte de los ‘50s que en los ‘60s se hiciera presente en todos los jazz clubs del mundo, de la mano del legendario y recientemente fallecido Jimmy Smith o bien de Larry Young, Rick Zunigar nos trae un correcto disco de jazz, sin desniveles. Tomando de sus exponentes históricos los elementos que lo caracterizan pero a su vez aportándole lo necesario para obtener un sonido actual e interesante. Desde un toque que nos recuerda al mítico Wes y por momentos a un amable Jim Hall, pero con un fraséo más melódico y alla Metheny nos encontramos aquí frente a un excelente guitarrista y jazz-man, original en su decir, que ha sabido rodearse de los músicos necesarios para acompañarlo en este proyecto: Dave Tull, Mark Ferber o Don Littleton (en batería) según el caso, el imprescindible Hammond B3 en las manos de Bill Heid o Joe Bagg, y el órgano de Wayne Peet o Mikal Majeed, quienes en cada tema producen junto a Rick un sonido conciso y equilibrado, con buenos solos y en particular en el caso de Zunigar de una notable variedad rítmica y desarrollo armónico. Con versiones de clásicos como Old Milestones, In A Sentimental Mood u All Blues, y algunas llamativas composiciones propias este disco resulta una atractiva opción en un formato un tanto olvidado o difícil de encontrar y que necesitaba volver a hacerse presente.

A combination of Barney Kessel on the jazz tracks and John McLaughlin on the fusion tracks

Zunigar is a master guitar craftsman whose playing knows no boundaries. Zunigar hit the professional scene at 16, and, as he performed in clubs and various venues, his reputation grew as a superb guitarist. It based on this reputation that Freddie Hubbard and Stevie Wonder tapped the services of this talented young musician….

Rick's taste ranges from Bebop to Salsa….straight-ahead