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Originally from Oregon, Richard started taking piano lesson from age 5 moving to the violin at 9. He added the upright bass at 12, and tuba and electric bass at 13. Violin, tuba, and electric bass would stay with him up through high school. Wanting to focus on jazz studies, he left the violin behind to study and begin playing in the Portland area from the late 1970s to the mid 80’s.

“In college, I was fortunate to have had teachers that were also working musicians, so they taught from both academic and practical experience—in other words, what you need to know to play your instrument, and what you need to know to make music as a group. They introduced me to work opportunities, which turned the bandstand into an advanced course classroom where I could confirm and put to use what I learned in the daytime, gain valuable real-world playing experience, and learn further under some of the best musicians in the Northwest."

In addition to working with the best big bands in the Portland metro area, those opportunities led to working with artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Helen O’Connell, Diane Schurr, Debbie Reynolds, Rose Marie, Nancy King, Frankie Laine, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Pat Boone, and more.

Moving to Japan in 1986, Richard has backed artists such as Martha Miyake, Hara Nobuo, Teramasa Hino, Chika Ohashi, Sera Yuzuru and more and remains active playing, writing, and arranging with his own groups.