Ron ODRICH

Ron Odrich is a clarinetist who has played and recorded with Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Phil Woods, Buddy DeFranco, and other jazz greats. He participated -- teaching and playing jazz clarinet -- in the Robert Marcellus Master Class and Northwestern University for twelve years. In May of 1992, he was featured as the first jazz artist to perform for the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has played in various New York City clubs, appearing regularly with his own quartet for the past twelve years. John S. Wilson, music critic of The New York Times, said Odrich is "recognized by fellow musicians as a jazz bass clarinetist virtually without a peer" and that he is "a brilliant jazz clarinetist." His first album was with jazz greats Vinnie Burke and Chris Connors in 1955; his album "Blackstick" was given a four star rating by DownBeat magazine.

Odrich is virtually a New Yorker. Born in Connecticut, he and his family moved to the Empire State when he was very young and he has remained in one or the other of the five boroughs of New York City ever since. His father, Jim, was an early mentor; he was originally a cellist who later doubled on the reeds and played saxophone, clarinet and oboe in radio, recording studios and in many Broadway musicals. Ron's first instrument was cello, but he switched to clarinet when he was thirteen years old after hearing the opening cadenza to "Rhapsody in Blue." His teachers, Sal Amato, Vincent Abato, Buddy DeFranco, Kalmen Opperman, RObert Marcellus, Daniel Bonade and Lennie Tristano, represent a "Who's Who" of virtuoso clarinetists and superb musical theorists.

Early club dates through the late '40s were followed by the Air Force Band, "Airmen of Note," 1951-53, and performances as part of the Vinnie Burke Quartet, Clark Terry (small and large orchestras), on-stage playing/acting in the original Broadway cast of "Lenny" and formation of his own quartet in the early 1980s.

Ron is also a periodontist with his own practice in Manhattan. His activities with his quartet and his dental practice were one of the feature stories on the August '94 Charles Kurault Show on CDS "Sunday Morning." Ne also appeared on "Around New York" on station WNYC in '94 with a trio.

He has composed and performed a classical/jazz piece, "Winter Fantasy," written for orchestra, vocal chorus and jazz quartet. A list of Odrich's recordings includes:

On March 20, 1996, he was featured as a soloist at Carnegie Hall in the Memorial Concert for composer Morton Gould and in June, 1998 he played with his sextet for the Jazz Festival in Naples, Italy. Ron continues to perform on a regular basis with his group in one of New York's jazz clubs in mid-town Manhattan.

In August, 2001, Ron performed as a soloist at the International Clarinetfest in New Orleans. In that month as well, he was the featured soloist at Lehigh University at an Artie Shaw Concert and in April 2002 he performed with this quartet at Muhlenberg College. In May, 2002, he appeared with Buddy DeFranco at New Jersey City University. In May, Ron was the featured jazz soloist at the Five Towns College in Long Island.

In June, 2002, Ron performed an evening concert at the Clarinet Symposium in Norman, Oklahoma at Oklahoma University.