Tom Richeson - Gift of Wind (2020)

Tom Richeson is very grateful to fellow musician Ted Ludwig, the former New Orleans guitarist who came to Little Rock after Hurricane Katrina.

"He made me want to start playing music again," says Richeson, associate professor of music and coordinator of jazz studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Richeson, who plays trumpet, fluegelhorn and MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) wind controller, among other instruments, says he hadn't been playing live much since the late 1990s.

"Two years ago, I went to see Ted perform and that experience lit the spark again for me. He is brilliant."

That spark led to an album, Jazz Tracks, which features compositions by Richeson and Ludwig and also features drummer Brian Brown and bassist Joe Vick, who work as a trio with Ludwig. Another guest is pianist Charles Thomas.

Richeson and the Ludwig Trio will present their first live performance together today at the Studio Theatre/The Lobby Bar, 320 W. Seventh St., Little Rock. They will play two sets of original music. Five of the songs will be from Jazz Tracks, which will be available at the show.

A member of the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame and winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Fellowship, Richeson founded and directed The Little Rock Jazz Machine from 1985 to 1995. The big band recorded two albums. He also has written text books for his music courses at UALR, which were published by McGraw Hill Learning Solutions.