Emil Richards

Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Richards was born in Hartford, Connecticut to Italian immigrant parents who ran a meat market. Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Al Lepak at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, graduating in 1952. After being drafted, he belonged to an Army band in Japan and played with Toshiko Akiyoshi. He cited Lionel Hampton as his first and biggest influence on vibraphone. In 1954, Richards moved to New York City, where he played with Charles Mingus, Ed Shaughnessy, and Ed Thigpen while doing studio recordings for Perry Como, the Ray Charles Singers, and Mitchell Ayres. For about three years, he was a member of a group led by George Shearing, then moved to Los Angeles and worked with Don Ellis and Paul Horn. He led his own band, the Microtonal Blues Band, and spent time with composer and inventor Harry Partch. As a sideman, he accompanied George Harrison on tour and recorded with Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Doris Day, Judy Garland, Nelson Riddle, Steely Dan, and Sarah Vaughan. Richards worked often as a studio musician for movies and television. His credits include playing bongos on the theme song for the television program Mission: Impossible. Other television work included finger snaps for the Addams Family theme, and xylophone work for the opening theme of The Simpsons. He led a band with Joe Porcaro, and he released a solo album, The Wonderful World of Percussion. His mallet pupils included Morten Grønvad, Stan Levey and Bo Wagner. Richards died on December 13, 2019.[non-primary source needed] In 1962, Richards went on a worldwide tour with Frank Sinatra to raise money for poor children. The tour increased Richards's fascination with ethnic percussion instruments. During his career, he collected over 350 instruments, many of them more common in the East than the West. Richards wanted his instruments to continue to be heard in recordings and other performances and to remain together as much as possible. The Emil Richards Collection includes common percussion, such as xylophone and marimba and exotic, such as the angklung, bulbul tarang, chimta, flapamba, jal tarang, janggu, lujon, mbira, and pakhavaj. In 1992, he gave sixty-five instruments to the Percussive Arts Society museum in Lawton, Oklahoma. He was a member of the Society's Hall of Fame. Part of the collection was sold to Los Angeles Percussion Rentals. Many instruments were restored and are used in recordings and other performances in Los Angeles. LAPR works with Odd Art Fabrications to custom design and fabricate instruments and hardware such as chromatically tuned wood blocks and chromatically tuned bell plate. Yazz Per Favore (Del-fi, 1961) New Sound Element Stones (Uni, 1967) New Time Element (Uni, 1967) Cosmic Sounds with the Zodiac (Elektra, 1967) Journey to Bliss (Impulse!, 1968) Spirit of 1976/Live at Donte's (Impulse!, 1969) Wonderful World of Percussion (Interworld, 1994) Luntana (Interworld, 1996) With The Surfmen The Sounds of Exotic Island (Somerset, 1960) Hawaii (Somerset, 1960) With Louis Bellson Ecue (Ritmos Cubanos) (Pablo, 1978) Prime Time (Concord Jazz, 1978) Louie Bellson Jam (Pablo, 1979) With Alessi Brothers Alessi (A&M, 1976) With Frank Capp Percussion in a Tribute to Henry Mancini (Kimberly, 1961) Percussion in a Tribute to Glenn Miller (Kimberly, 1963) Percussion in a Tribute to Lawrence Welk (Kimberly, 1963) In a Tribute to the Dorsey Brothers (Kimberly, 2010) In a Tribute to Count Basie (Kimberly, 2014) With Rosemary Clooney That Travelin' Two-Beat (Capitol, 1965) With Nat King Cole Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays (Capitol, 1962) Let's Face the Music! (Capitol, 1964) With George Duke I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry (MPS, 1975) Liberated Fantasies (MPS, 1976) From Me to You (Epic, 1977) With Michael Giacchino The Incredibles (Walt Disney, 2004) Ratatouille (Walt Disney, 2007) Coco (Walt Disney, 2017) Spider-Man: Homecoming (Sony, 2017) War for the Planet of the Apes (Sony, 2017) With George Harrison Dark Horse (Apple, 1974) Thirty Three & 1/3 (Dark Horse, 1976) George Harrison (Dark Horse, 1979) With Paul Horn Something Blue (HiFi Jazz, 1960) The Sound of Paul Horn (Columbia, 1961) Profile of a Jazz Musician (Columbia, 1962) Impressions of Cleopatra (Columbia, 1963) Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts (RCA, Victor, 1965) With James Newton Howard Off Limits (Varese Sarabande, 1988) Grand Canyon (RCA, 1991) Outbreak (Varese Sarabande, 1995) Waterworld (MCA, 1995) With Quincy Jones The Hot Rock OST (Prophesy, 1972) Roots (A&M, 1977) The Color Purple (Qwest, 1986) Basie & Beyond (Qwest, 2000) With Roger Kellaway The Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet (A&M, 1971) Come to the Meadow (A&M, 1974) Nostalgia Suite (Discwasher, 1978) With Stan Kenton Artistry in Jazz (Capitol, 1972) Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra (Capitol, 1965) Hair (Capitol, 1969) Kenton's Christmas (Capitol, 1970) New Horizons Volume 1 (Tantara, 2014) New Horizons Volume 2 (Tantara, 2014) With Julie London Julie...At Home (Liberty, 1960) All Through the Night: Julie London Sings the Choicest of Cole Porter (Capitol, 1965) With Henry Mancini The Hawaiians (United Artists, 1970) Symphonic Soul (RCA Victor, 1975) The Jazz Sound from Peter Gunn (Fresh Sound, 1994) With Harry Partch The World of Harry Partch (Columbia, 1969) Delusion of the Fury (Sony, 1999) Harry Partch: A Portrait (New World, 2015) With Shorty Rogers Bossa Nova (Reprise, 1961) Jazz Waltz (Reprise, 1962) The Fourth Dimension in Sound (Warner Bros., 1962) An Invisible Orchard (RCA, 1997) With Lalo Schifrin More Mission: Impossible (Paramamount, 1969), featured in a chimes solo on "Self-Destruct" Rock Requiem (Verve, 1971) Gypsies (Tabu, 1978) Rush Hour 2 (Varese Sarabande, 2001) Rush Hour 3 (Varese Sarabande, 2007) With Shadowfax Shadowfax (Windham Hill, 1982) Shadowdance (Windham Hill, 1983) Too Far to Whisper (Windham Hill, 1986) Folksongs for a Nuclear Village (Capitol, 1988) Esperanto (EarthBeat!, 1992) With George Shearing In the Night (Capitol, 1958) Latin Lace (Capitol, 1958) Shearing On Stage! (Capitol, 1959) On the Sunny Side of the Strip (Capitol, 1960) The Shearing Touch! (World Record Club, 1964) Satin Affair (World Record Club, 1967) With Frank Sinatra Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (Reprise, 1961) Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (Capitol, 1961) Sinatra Swings (Reprise, 1961) Come Swing with Me! (Capitol, 1961) Sinatra and Strings (Reprise, 1962) Point of No Return (Capitol, 1962) Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (Reprise, 1962) The Concert Sinatra (Reprise, 1963) It Might as Well Be Swing (Reprise, 1964) Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (Reprise, 1964) Softly, as I Leave You (Reprise, 1964) 12 Songs of Christmas (Reprise, 1964) My Kind of Broadway (Reprise, 1965) That's Life (Reprise, 1966) Strangers in the Night (Reprise, 1966) Cycles (Reprise, 1968) My Way (Reprise, 1968) A Man Alone (Reprise, 1969) Sinatra & Company (Reprise, 1971) Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (Reprise, 1973) Some Nice Things I've Missed (Reprise, 1974) She Shot Me Down (Reprise, 1981) Duets (Capitol, 1993) With The Manhattan Transfer The Spirit of St. Louis (Atlantic, 2000) With L. Subramaniam Fantasy Without Limits (Trend, 1980) Blossom (Crusaders, 1981) Indian Express (Milestone, 1983) Spanish Wave (Milestone, 1983) Salaam Bombay! (DRG, 1988) With Frank Zappa Lumpy Gravy (Verve, 1967) Orchestral Favorites (Discreet, 1979) Läther (Rykodisc, 1996) With Hans Zimmer Broken Arrow (Milan, 1996) The Thin Red Line (RCA Victor, 1999) The Last Samurai (Elektra, 2003) With others Francisco Aguabella, Dance the Latin Way (Fantasy, 1962) Toshiko Akiyoshi & Lew Tabackin Big Band, March of the Tadpoles (RCA, 1977) Laurindo Almeida, Virtuoso Guitar (Crystal Clear, 1977) Herb Alpert, Just You and Me (A&M, 1976)