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Rich Tones Curated Jazz

Where It All Started | September 2, 2022

By Rich Rector

Published August 28, 2022 at 2:48 PM MDT

I had the pleasure of reconnecting with my Stanford Freshman roommate, Ian McIlraith, who was a huge influence on my love of jazz!

If you read my bio to the left of this post, you'll learn that Ian McIlraith was key to my understanding and appreciation of jazz. In this episode of Rich Tones, I interview Ian 51 years after we met. I hope you will indulge us for about 30 or 40 minutes of reminiscing and discussing some of the jazz we heard together. Here's a photo of me and him taken on August 31st, 2022, when he was passing through my town and stopped to have breakfast with me.

I challenge him a few times with some "blindfold tests" to hear how he responds to some songs from our past.

Here is a YouTube selection of Stanley Turrentine playing "Sugar" which is one of the tunes Ian mentioned in the interview.

Rich Tones Curated Jazz

Rich Rector

Rich Rector is the host of Rich Tones Curated Jazz. A one hour journey into the wonderful world of jazz music.

See stories by Rich Rector

allan henry - ahenry.com

Rich has been around music all his life. His dad had a swing band in the 1940’s and played saxophones and clarinets. Rich played one of those clarinets in grade school band, and also took up the guitar in high school. But never was a jazz player. Instead, he listened! RichTones Curated Jazz on KPCW gives our listeners a new perspective on jazz.

While attending Stanford University Rich's roommate, Ian McIlraith, was a jazz saxophone player who was familiar with many jazz players and songs. Ian really educated him about jazz; he taught him how to listen closely for different artists’ playing styles and he introduced him to the classic jazz standards.

He honed his listening skills by attending many concerts and jazz festivals. Some of the people and places Rich remembers are Mike Stern at The Regatta Bar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA; Milt Jackson at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA; Bill Frisell at The Blue Note in NYC; local combos at The Green Mill in Chicago; and The Blue Room in Kansas City’s Jazz District, just to name a few. In addition, Rich was able to see performances by Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and many more.

If you’re new to jazz, Rich Tones will introduce you to new players and sounds; if you’re already a jazz buff, Rich Tones will give you a new personal perspective on the genre.