March 13, 2009 -- On February 24, 2009, Rick was honored to perform with Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves and the legendary Marcus Roberts Trio featuring Jason Marsalis and Roland Guerin. The event took place at FAMU's Lee Hall Auditorium and was part of the FSU Seven Days of Opening Nights festival. Read the Tallahassee Democrat article.

Rick will be featured on trumpeter Scotty Barnhart's upcoming album Say It Plain. The record is on the Unity Music label and will be released on May 19, 2009. For this recording, his debut as a leader, Barnhart assembled a group of the finest musicians in jazz including Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Herlin Riley, Todd Williams, Bill Peterson, Rodney Jordan, Leon Anderson, and others. In the album's liner notes, Stanley Crouch, one of America's foremost jazz writers, called Rick an "excellent guitarist." Rick is humbled and thrilled to be on record alongside these amazing musicians.

In conjunction with the release of Say It Plain, Rick will be performing with the Scotty Barnhart group for two dates this spring. The first is March 28 at FAMU's Lee Hall Auditorium and is part of the FSU Origins Series. The second performance is April 11 at B Sharp's Jazz Cafe in Tallahassee for the first Say It Plain CD Release Party. More dates are likely follow over the summer.

This May, Rick will tour with pianist Bill Peterson playing the music of Cole Porter as part of an NEA funded Jazz Outreach Tour in schools and other public establishments. There are 12 performances, schedule is forthcoming.

Rick has been spending much of this year writing new music with the intent of making a recording by the end of Summer 2009. His trio continues to perform at The Winery most Friday nights. In addition, his blues/soul project will have several dates over the coming months. This will be a big year for Rick, so stay tuned for what is to come.