Richard Sussman

Education/Awards/Professional Organizations:

NEA Grant Recipient – 1987, 1991
Meet the Composer Grant Recipient – 1984
M.M. – Manhattan School of Music/B.A. – Empire State College
Faculty – Manhattan School of Music – 1986-present

Writing Experience:

Jazz/Big Band/Orchestral Compositions/Arrangements:
Commissioned arrangements for Lionel Hampton, Blood Sweat & Tears, Randy Brecker, Dean Pratt, others
Tribute to Fletcher Henderson (NEA grant)
Suite for Jazz Quartet & Orchestra 1 & 2 (NEA grants)

Original underscoring for the following TV series:
Gullah Gullah Island – Nickelodeon
Out of the Box – Disney
Another World – NBC
Guiding Light – CBS

Original themes for:
Tim McCarver Show – MSG
Your Money & Your Life – Oxygen

Original score for independent feature film The Pretenders

Numerous dance, show, studio arrangements, and scoring for various commercial acts, recording sessions, documentaries, and industrials

Performance Experience:

Pianist/Synthesist for the following artists:
Blood, Sweat, & Tears; Lionel Hampton; Donna Summer; David Sanborn; George Benson;
Lee Konitz; Carly Simon; Buddy Rich; Marty Balin; Cleo Laine; Steve Slagle; Anita O’Day;
The Elephant’s Memory; Chris Conner; Country Joe McDonald; Anthony & The Imperials
Leader of jazz quintet performing original music

Recordings:

As leader:
Free Fall – The Richard Sussman Quintet – Inner City Records/reissued on Doubletime Jazz
Tributaries – with Andy Laverne – Inner City Records
As pianist and/or composer/arranger with: Lionel Hampton; The Elephant’s Memory; Marty Balin; Country Joe McDonald; Steve Slagle; Dean Pratt; Simon Shaheen; Music of the World
Synthesizer Programming on Randy Brecker’s 1998 Grammy winning CD Into the Sun

Manhattan School of Music faculty since 1986.