Blues, Boogie Woogie & New Orleans Piano
 
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Welcome-

Here you'll find information on "Ricky Nye Inc.", "Ricky Nye & The Red Hots", 
and my solo & duet outings. Read what people have been saying about us in the 
press.
Take a listen to clips from my recordings and check out my schedule  
to find out where I'll be performing- thanks for stopping by and c'mon back...   

p.s.- feel free to E-MAIL me- it's: rickynye@hotmail.com

CHECK IT OUT- the big bad MYSPACE page for new photos 'n' such!


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WEEK AT A GLANCE: May 13- 19


WED. 9- Ricky with Bekah Williams @ CHEZ NORA

for more details click
HERE...

 

NEWS:

THANK YOU! readers, voters and listeners for voting me
"Best Local Musician" in CityBeat Magazine's
"Best Of Cincinnati 2012" issue- I feel loved! :o)

 

 THANK YOU! to all who attended the

THIRTEENTH ANNUAL 
BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5th
@ the historic SOUTHGATE HOUSE
24 E. 3rd St., Newport, KY 41071
859-431-2201

WHAT A NIGHT!!! appreciation and respect for my fellow pianists Stephanie Trick, Rob Rio, and Jörg Hegemann (1st U.S. appearance!)- Brian Aylor (drums), Chris Douglas (upright bass) & George Bedard (guitar)- KILLIN' IT! and if that wasn't enough: special surprise guest pianists Chase Garrett and Fabrice Eulry- an OUTSTANDING audience- more than I could have dreamed of!



JOERG HEGEMANN (Germany)
STEPHANIE TRICK (St. Louis, MO)
ROB RIO (Los Angeles, CA)
RICKY NYE (Cincinnati, OH)

with:

GEORGE BEDARD (guitar)
CHRIS DOUGLAS (upright bass)
BRIAN AYLOR (drums)


BIG THANKS to our sponsors who make it all possible: 
Premier Pianos, Dewey's Pizza, York Vision, Chez Nora
Destiny Yacht Charters
Heater Meals, CityBeat,
Esquire
/ Mariemont/ Kenwood Theatres & Eat Well


This show is a MUST SEE for previous attendees of the Boogie Summit, and for folks that have never witnessed the event: two grand pianos, a stellar rhythm section, no smoking, plenty of seating, and an OUTSTANDING representation of piano styles: JOERG HEGEMANN (Germany), possessing grace, power and the spirit of Albert Ammons (one of the pioneers of boogie woogie); STEPHANIE TRICK (St.Louis), a prodigious master of stride a la Fats Waller & James P. Johnson; ROB RIO (Los Angeles) bringing fun and a bawdy good time with a solid blues & boogie foundation; and RICKY NYE (Cincinnati), the show's producer and a stylist channeling blues, boogie and New Orleans flavors in his personal way...rhythm section comprised of world class guitar master GEORGE BEDARD (Ann Arbor, MI) and Ricky's ready steady team on the local front:
BRIAN AYLOR
(drums) and CHRIS DOUGLAS (upright bass)...
BE THERE for this very special and intimate evening!



and here's some great video from the NINTH BOOGIE SUMMIT,
courtesy of Russ Withington/ IMAGG, Inc.- enjoy!

CHRISTOPH ROIS: "Central Avenue Breakdown"

BEKAH WILLIAMS: "As Long As I'm Moving"

RICKY NYE: "Arkansas Blues"

MARTIJN SCHOK & RICKY NYE: "Ricardo y Martijno"


happy to be voted in the "Best Local Musician" category of
CityBeat Magazine's "Best Of Cincinnati 2011" Readers Picks-
THANK YOU READERS!

 

I
was honored to be voted "Blues Artist of the Year 2010" 
by 
CityBeat Magazine at their
CEA AWARDS held at  the 
Madison Theater in Covington, KY on Sunday, November 21st-
thank you for your support and to all that voted- you make a difference!  R.N.  :o)

NEW CD RELEASES:

RICKY NYE & THE PARIS BLUES BAND-
follow-up to 2008's 
"Ville du Bois" disc,
recorded with the most outa-sight blues players 
in Paris: Anthony Stelmaszack (guitar); Thibaut Chopin (upright bass/harmonica); Simon "Shuffle" Boyer (drums) and special guest Nico Duportal (guitar)- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com

TWELFTH ANNUAL BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT 
featuring BOB SEELEY (Detroit, MI), JULIAN PHILLIPS (U.K.), PATRICK SMET (Belgium) & RICKY NYE plus exciting rhythm section (Brian Aylor- drums; Buck Stevens- upright bass; and George Bedard- guitar)- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com

ELEVENTH ANNUAL BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT 
featuring LLUIS COLOMA (Barcelona, Spain), BARRELHOUSE CHUCK (Chicago, IL), LISA OTEY (Tucson, AZ) & RICKY NYE plus outstanding rhythm section (Brian Aylor- drums; Steve Perakis- upright bass; and George Bedard- guitar)- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com

all the above titles are NOW also available as DIGITAL DOWNLOADS!


PIANO KILLERS

All instrumental recording of Ricky Nye with Fabrice Eulry (Paris) & Renaud Patigny (Brussels)- solos, duet and trio compositions all performed on one piano- recorded in Paris- available NOW @ www.cdbaby.com


VILLE DU BOIS  
A disc recorded with the most outa-sight blues players in Paris is available NOW @ CD BABY 

***
PRICES SLASHED on Boogie Summits #3 through #10- NOW only $9.97 @ CD BABY!!!***

CDs also available at all live shows and in Cincinnati @ Everybody's Records & Shake It Records


 

:
A TRIBUTE to BIG JOE DUSKIN (1921-2007) by Ricky Nye


I first met Big Joe Duskin in ’82, before I ever started to mess around with boogie woogie- that didn’t matter to Joe, he just knew I played piano, and that made us friends. Through the time I’ve known him he has always been very supportive of me, and of so many musicians. His playing and singing was loved by blues enthusiasts and fellow piano players all over the world- I can’t tell you how many times, upon encountering the European leaders in blues & boogie in my travels, their first words to me were “how’s Big Joe?”

I treasure the times we played together, the many phone calls, running errands and especially meaningful were the times visiting Joe during his last year, when he was bedridden- I’d come in, turn on his keyboard and go at it, and Joe would lay in bed and sing his head off, improvising blues I’d never heard from him before.

Because I loved Joe, it was inevitable that aspects of his style made their way into my playing- his album “Cincinnati Stomp” was a template for me to study boogie woogie, and I learned the title track to perform as homage to him. When he played a blues, he was on “Joe time”- the lazy tremolos, the space in his playing all added up to me. The message in his style also came as words of advice he gave one day- he said “Rick, take it from an old pro: don’t work so hard! Take your time, talk to the people- they like that.” I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I said “Joe, you have a commanding presence, a big booming voice, you’re a great storyteller...I’m just a little white guy- what am I supposed to do? If I start talking away, they’d just tell me to shut up & play!” And he laughed, which is something I really miss- his chuckling, and the sound of his laughter will always resound in my mind.

Big Joe’s love of food is legendary- it mattered as much to him how you were fed at a gig as any other aspect of the show. If I called to relate tales of my travels, he’d always ask “how’d they feed you?” After Joe played a prestigious concert at Music Hall in Cincinnati, I called to see how things went- he said “Rick, it was so nice- they had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, peas...”-nothing was said of the performance! Once when visiting Joe in the hospital, he asked if I would go downstairs to the Burger King and get him a cheeseburger & french fries. When I asked if didn’t they have him on a particular diet, he said “hell with them- I’m going home tomorrow”. So I indulged him, and you would have thought he was eating the finest meal of his life...food was a big pleasure for Big Joe.

His compromised health in the last years of his life did nothing to dampen his hope and spirit. Joe’s performance at his 84th birthday party was a perfect example of the transference of love from his fans right back at them- it was the last time he was truly on fire, playing and singing until he had nothing left to give. To see him hold court at the Arches Stage at the annual Cincy Blues Fest was always beautiful- his appreciation for the other pianists and their appreciation for him always resulted in a truly inspired and joyous set.

I feel truly blessed to have had Joe as a friend and inspiration to me. Years ago, after he was in the hospital on a regular basis, I wondered when the day would come that Joe would leave this earth, and that day arrived- May 6th, 2007. Yet his spirit is alive and strong, in myself and every other musician he’s played with and encouraged. Whenever I play, especially now, I offer it up for him...

God bless Big Joe Duskin.

 


 



R.I.P.  H-BOMB FERGUSON  (1929-2006)


Historical information about H-Bomb Ferguson can be found @ www.cdbaby.com/cd/hbombf

Video footage & photo montage from documentary filmmaker 
John Parker

 

"QUICK 'N' DIRTY"  & "Highlights from the THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTHSIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH & TENTH BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMITS"  ("PIANO IS FUN!" & Highlights from the SECOND SUMMIT are currently out of print, but a few copies remain at some of the shops listed below...) are available worldwide through www.cdbaby.com, and if you're in Cincinnati, they are available NOW @ Shake It Records, Everybody's Records, Mole's and Joseph Beth Booksellers (check out the CD reviews of the Second Summit & Third Summit from the Cincinnati Enquirer)...

***PRICES SLASHED on Boogie Summits #3 through #9- NOW only $9.97 @ CD BABY!!!***

and here's a review of "Quick 'N' Dirty" from CityBeat Magazine (12-24-03): 

The title of Ricky Nye and the Swingin' Mudbugs' sophomore release (the follow-up to 1998's Piano is Fun!) is a play on the recording philosophy behind the album. Nye likes to record in as few takes as possible, and Quick was done with little overdubbing or other fixes (just like Fun!). But if you've seen Nye's trio perform live, you know that the local prince of boogie-woogie-styled piano probably doesn't require many "do-overs." There are certainly no holes in Quick 'N' Dirty. The energy and spontaneity exhibited makes listeners feel like they are dancing the night away in some sweaty bayou speakeasy. That intimacy translates superbly as Nye and Mudbugs Tony Franklin (drums) and Nick Lloyd (upright bass) rip effortlessly through a plethora of blues stylings on songs written by a variety of composers (save "Oh Yes," the sole Nye original). From the down-low blues of Muddy Waters' "What Is That She Got?" and the more up-tempo R&B of "Grits Ain't Groceries" (made famous by Little Milton) to the yearning, soulful balladry of "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and Nye's trademark barrelhouse rolls on "Downtown Boogie" and "Dixie Lullaby," you can take Quick 'N' Dirty as a musical history lesson or, more appropriately, as a joyous escapade through the repertoire of one of Cincinnati's most talented musicians. Nye obviously has the deepest respect for the New Orleans-spawned art form, but he doesn't treat the material too preciously, raucously banging out the tunes with skill and grace, but also with a genuine sense of glee, something that permeates from nearly every note. Between quality releases like Quick 'N' Dirty, Nye's organization of regular blues and boogie piano summits, featuring like-minded artists from around the world, and steady European touring, his place as one of the preeminent masters of the style is secure. -- MIKE BREEN

("QUICK 'N' DIRTY" also made CityBeat's TopTwenty Local Releases of 2003)

 
    
Pick up a copy of BEKAH WILLIAMS excellent debut CD @
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bekahwilliams  Produced by Ricky & Bekah, featuring The Swingin' Mudbugs with special guests (Dave Haley & Sonny Moorman on guitars, and local tenor sax icon Ray Heckman), and recorded by Erwin Musper @ his Bamboo Room Studio- it's a mighty fine songbook...get yours today!



            LOCAL MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS AWARDS:


CEA AWARDS
(sponsored by CityBeat Magazine)-
BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR: 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 & 2010
NOMINEE in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2011


CAMMY AWARDS- formerly sponsored by 
                                    The Cincinnati Enquirer:

BEST BLUES BAND (Ricky Nye & The Red Hots)- 2001
BEST SOLO ACT- 2001
BEST BLUES/R&B INSTRUMENTALIST- 2002
BEST SOLO ACT- 2002