((PKG))  JAZZ / PIA -- RENALD RICHARD   
((Banner:  Old School))
((Exec. Prod:  Marsha James))
((Camera:  Kaveh Rezaei))
((Adapted by:  Philip Alexiou))
 ((Map:  New York / New York City))
((RENALD RICHARD, MUSICIAN))
To me, music is a release that brings satisfaction and comfort to the one who produces it.
((NATS))
Well, I started out playing the piano when I was six. I was at a church dance and there was a band from New Orleans that came to play for that dance and they had two young trumpet players in the band. They were really cool. So, what happened, all the girls went after these two trumpet players, including my girlfriend. So, I said, well I’m going to have to do something about this. So, I went home. I asked dad if I could play the trumpet.  And he told me, he said, “why do you want to play the trumpet?” I said, “well, I think I like the trumpet.” And I started lessons on the trumpet. I continued lessons on the piano and trumpet. And it went on like that for a while and I got my girl back.
Eventually, Jeff Brown, the manager of Ray Charles, approached me and he said, “Ray Charles is forming a new band and he would be interested in you playing trumpet with him and the band.” And, of course, Ray Charles, I said yes.  I was honored by that and a little nervous, a little nervous. I didn’t know, then, of the genius of Ray Charles that I found out later. But, anyway, now in my life, I play music mainly with the Marco Island Strummers. To be a musician is like fulfilling a part of your life that’s irreplaceable. It’s something that I enjoy and I get a satisfaction from it.