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WEEK AT A GLANCE:  DEC. 8- 14

THURS. 12- Ricky with Bekah Williams @ LATITUDES
FRI. 13- Ricky with Chris Douglas @ WIEDEMANN'S FINE BEER
SAT. 14- Ricky solo (7:30-8:30 PM) and joining WARSAW FALCONS
              (second set) @ WIEDEMANN'S FINE BEER 

for more details click HERE...
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it's an honor to be recognized as BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR in Cincinnati CityBeat's CEA AWARDS 2019 - thanks to all who voted and support what I do - it is greatly appreciated !

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SPECTACULAR FRENCH TOUR (September 26 - October 11, 2019) -
MONT DORE, PARIS, LYON, NORMANDY & BURGUNDY - thanks to organizers SIMON BOYER, JEAN-PIERRE BERTRAND, JEAN LECHERE
& FABRICE EULRY and to fellow musicians BEN LEVIN; SIMON BOYER, THIBAUT CHOPIN, ANTHONY STELMASZACK (The Paris Blues Band); PASCAL FOUQUET; LLUIS COLOMA & FABRICE EULRY...also thanking SIMON, PASCAL & FABRICE and their families for the hospitality, plus transportation by car through the gorgeous French countryside...
what a refreshing treat !
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THANK YOU as always ST. LOUIS for a significant time ! (July 18-21, 2019)

BB'S JAZZ BLUES & SOUPS
played a solo set followed by Chicago's mighty CASH BOX KINGS, followed by another solo set joined by legendary blues guitarist BILLY FLYNN which then folded into being invited, along with young blues mastermind MARQUISE KNOX for a rabble-rousing jamboree - thanks to manager JOHN MAY for being a fine instigator !

THE FOCAL POINT
prestigious intimate concert venue where I performed first set solo, second set joined by heavyweights PAUL NIEHAUS IV (upright bass) &
DAN CONNER (drums) - thanks to MICHAEL HOLTZ for making it all possible

SQWIRES ANNEX
thanks to outstanding pianist and friend CHRISTOPHER PARRISH for saving me with this gig after a last minute cancellation - very pleasant brunch time on their grand piano

also, after Thursday and Saturday shows was able to visit two venues I hadn't visited before: THAXTON SPEAKEASY where I heard my friends and hosts during the stay, pianist CHASE GARRETT & vocalist EMILIE RICHARD,  joined on some numbers by Christopher Parrish; and FRISCO BARROOM where I heard for the first time THE BOTTLESNAKES (ETHAN LEINWAND- piano & NICK PENCE- guitar)...plus heard amazing guitarist & vocalist MAT WILSON twice: on Friday night @ BB'S with Ethan Leinwand, and Saturday afternoon @ BLUES CITY DELI seeing for the first time Mat's group RUM DRUM RAMBLERS: Mat with RYAN KOENIG- mandolin, harmonica, vocals and bones, & upright bassist JOE GLYNN, both members of band led by renowned POKEY LAFARGE

lots o' love for my friends on and off the bandstand in STL -
see you again soon !
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CD RELEASES
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GETTIN' LOOSE!"

featuring:
Anthony Stelmaszack (electric & acoustic guitars)
Simon "Shuffle" Boyer (drums)
Chris Douglas (upright bass)
Ricky Nye (upright piano, Hammond organ and voice)

thanks to Manley Fairchild @ Ultrasuede Studio and to Maurice Mattei for design

a tribute to such varied folk as Bob Wills, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Yancey,
Furry Lewis, Little Willie Littlefield, Big Joe Duskin & Lonnie Mack, plus a few original numbers

check out this interview with Ron Esposito courtesy of WVXU 91.7 FM and Lee Hay:

http://wvxu.org/post/new-cd-boogie-woogie-piano-player-ricky-nye#stream/0

it's a rockin' li'l record! available NOW on CD Baby, Shake It Records and Everybody's Records and at any of my shows

AND here's an excellent review by Mark Thompson @
BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE:

If you aren't familiar with the name Ricky Nye, it certainly isn't due to a lack of effort on his part. His smooth vocals and splendid keyboard efforts have been featured on fourteen previous recordings under his name in addition to cuts on several piano compilations. His latest has him backed by his Paris Blues band for the fourth time. Based in the Cincinnati, OH area, Nye has received numerous local blues awards, including CEA award, Blues Artist Of The Year, for two consecutive years. The band is comprised of Anthony Stelmaszack on guitar, Simon “Shuffle” Boyer on drums, and Chris Douglas, Nye's regular upright bass player.

The disc opens with a Furry Lewis tune, “I Will Turn Your Money Green”. The band cruises along at a sprightly pace with Nye laying down a litany of woes until Stelmaszack tries to reverse his fortunes with some striking guitar picking. Nye's fingers give his piano a workout on Memphis Slim's “Miss Ida Bea,” then he turns “San Antonio Rose” into a magnificent boogie-woogie romp. Dipping into the Nat King Cole songbook, the band sets a swinging pace on “For You My Love,” with Stelmaszack once again creating a strong impression. He follows that up with a blazing solo on an instrumental take of the Chuck Berry classic, 'Memphis”.

Highlights from the second half of the disc include the good-time instrumental, “Shaggy Rag,” an original performed acoustically, and a showcase for Nye on the instrumental, “Shave 'Em Dry,” composed by the legendary piano man, Jimmy Yancey. Nye's fingers roll across the keyboard, spinning out three minutes of piano magic. On another original, “I Miss Your Love,” he switches over to the Hammond organ, giving the contemporary blues track a full, rich sound. Little Willie Littlefield's classic, “K.C. Lovin',” gets a rollicking treatment with plenty of piano and a fat guitar tone. “How Long Blues” from Leroy Carr is a standard that every blues pianist has to know how to play. Nye's version focuses on his vocals with Stelmaszack on acoustic guitar. The title, “Radiate Them 88's,” tells you all need to know about rousing finale.

This is one of those discs that sneaks up on you, impressing track after track with lively performances and solid musical interplay that makes every song a delight. The players are quite comfortable working together, and with Ricky Nye setting the pace, the disc never wavers from generating an enthusiastic affirmation of the blues that will have you pushing the repeat button on your CD player. Well worth a listen!

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my first holiday release, "RICKY NYE PLAYS HOLIDAY FAVORITES"
is available NOW ! @ Cincinnati, OH record shops
Everybody's Records & Shake It Records, at all shows, and
available WORLDWIDE @ CD Baby

a very cool variety of secular and spiritual holiday classics- solo piano,
duets with vocalist Bekah Williams and upright bassist Chris Douglas,
trio format with drummer Paul Ellis and quartet action with the addition
of tenor saxophonist Ray Heckman - HO HO HO !
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a recording I made with old friends
Rob Lumbard & Nick Lloyd, entitled "BLUES IN A BOTTLE"
won BEST SELF-PRODUCED CD @ the
International Blues Challenge (IBC) 2016 in Memphis, TN



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2 CD SET available now- debut release from vocalist DOTTIE WARNER- "A SERENADE IN BLUE/ THURSDAYS AT ARNOLD'S"- '20's, '30's & '40's jazz and blues- available @ CDBABY.COM- also available @ Arnold's Bar & Grill during business hours
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CD available NOW!

FEATURING:
Chris Douglas- upright bass
Paul Ellis- drums
Brian "Boss" Hogg- tenor sax
Sylvain Acher- guitar
Tom Moore- harmonica
Dan Dorff- percussion

recorded @ Ultrasuede Studio- Cincinnati, OH
engineered by Brian Niesz
mastered by Dave Davis
artwork by Maurice Mattei

currently available at all live shows, at Cincinnati, OH record shops Everybody's Records, Shake It Records and @ www.cdbaby.com

wonderful review by Rhys Williams @ Blues Blast Magazine-
read it HERE  (February 26th, 2015 issue)
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so proud to have been inducted into the
INTERNATIONAL BOOGIE WOOGIE HALL OF FAME-
big thanks to Dr. Philip Leming & Dr. Robert Cody
for making the ARCHES BOOGIE PIANO STAGE
@ THE CINCY BLUES FEST possible!
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THANK YOU READERS of CityBeat Magazine for voting me
"Best Local Musician" in their "Best Of Cincinnati" 2013 Awards-
in a town full of outstanding musicians, I take this as quite an honor!

THANK YOU READERS for voting me "BEST BLUES ARTIST"
in 2013 CEA AWARDS presented by CityBeat Magazine-
the awards show took place Sunday January 27th
@ The Madison Theater in Covington, KY- happy to play a short set
with CHRIS DOUGLAS (upright bass), to be joined by 46 LONG,
and to take part in the tribute to HERZOG STUDIOS-
CONGRATULATIONS to all nominees and winners-
proud to make music here in Greater Cincinnati!

SOLO RELEASE:

"THE THREE B'S: BLUES, BALLADS & BOOGIE WOOGIE"

LISTEN to a wonderful review by music historian
David Lewis, aired on NPR station WVXU 91.7 FM

exclusively available Cincinnati, OH record shops
Everybody's Records, Shake It Records, and all shows

"JUMP STEADY"- RICKY NYE & THE PARIS BLUES BAND

"HIGHLIGHTS from the 13th ANNUAL BLUES & BOOGIE
PIANO SUMMIT"

"TWISTIN' AT RAY'S" - FABRICE EULRY
(I co-produced this release, recorded in Cincinnati, OH)

these CDs are AVAILABLE NOW! @ CD Baby,
@ Cincinnati, OH record shops Everybody's Records
& Shake It Records, and all shows   

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)

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!  

OTHER 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 ALL BOOGIE SUMMIT CDs-
#3 through #13- NOW only $9.97 @ CD BABY!!!***

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

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"QUICK 'N' DIRTY"  & "Highlights from the THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, 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 #13 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)

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:
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

            LOCAL MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS AWARDS:

CEA AWARDS (sponsored by CityBeat Magazine)-
BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR: 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014 & 2019
NOMINEE in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017 & 2018

CITYBEAT MAGAZINE "Best Of Cincinnati" Readers Poll Awards-
BEST LOCAL MUSICIAN: 2012, 2013 & 2014

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