So sorry to hear that Stan "the Man" has died. He participated fairly often on the "phonogram" list serve. You may be interested in an email exchange I had with Stan last year, involving his bass playing.
On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 9:29 AM, Larry Toy <
[email protected]> wrote:
Most recently I've been ripping my collection of Sheffields (complete from
S10 to TLP-30). While recording and listening to TLP-28, the Gershwin album,
I found an interesting track. It features Stan the Man Ricker playing! and
not just recording. It is a supplemental album to the Moscow Sessions 3
record set (TLP-25,26,27) done in the summer of 1986, with Keith Johnson
borrowed from Reference Records and Stan doing the engineering on Keith's
famed tape machine. It was not D2D as all the previous releases on Sheffield
- hence the TLP prefix rather than the LAB prefix. In the TLP-28 separately
released album, Lincoln Mayorga, Sheffield's leader and pianist of note,
returns to Moscow to play and record a Gershwin concert with the Moscow Phil
in 1988. However, at the end of the album there are two cuts which were done
at the end of the Moscow Sessions recordings in '86. One is a spontaneous
improvisation of Summertime with Mayorga on piano, a member of the Moscow
Phil playing French horn, and Stan on bass.
Lots of fun, and apparently very appreciated by the members of Moscow Phil
who were their audience. I didn't know Stan was so multi-talented.
Stan, any recollections you want to share?
Larry
From: Stan Ricker [
mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2014 1:11 PM
To: Larry Toy
Subject: Re: [Phonogram] Stan the Man
HI, LARRY----------
That little gig with Lincoln was the highlight of that trip, for me.
That young kid of a French Horn player's name is, as I remember, ARKADY SHILKLOPPER,
and he was damned good!!!!!!!!!! By the way, the principalbass player loaned me his instrument,
quite good really. and I'm sure he thought I would break it----he really inspected it closely afterwords!
We were in the middle of our audience, with the orchestra seated behind us, and all the
invited guests, Orchestra wives, kids, and parents-in-law seated in what would be called
"The audience area"-------------except that the floor was flat---------no raised stage, as the room
had been built for recording--------------it was,unfortunately, a CUBE,AND HAD HORRIBLE
STANDING WAVE PROBLEMS IN ALL 3 DIRECTIONS! It gave
Keith and me fits until he got it figured out---with just 3 mikes.........
The Russians just miked everyone, and mixed it down later, as on some of those Melodyia
records some of you have..........
All in all,that Moscow trip was/has been/is a real highlight of my life;I have been able to
get Lincoln to appear 5 times in our Community concert series, and when he gets to the ragtime
part of his concert, he always asks me to drag by bass up on stage, and play a bunch of Rags-
always lots of fun, and always good to see him..................
I'm really pleased that some one has actually heard that recording; it was lots of fun, and too good not to share!
Thanks, Larry!!
CHEERS TO ALL,
STAN RICKER
SR/2
