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Ricky Parrell - Keys to My Life


GA Russell

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  Artist Title Time    
 
 
 
  RICKY PARRELL The Commute 01:17    
  RICKY PARRELL Work 05:54    
  RICKY PARRELL Man Like You 06:04    
  RICKY PARRELL Home 08:07    
  RICKY PARRELL Interlude I-66 02:05    
  RICKY PARRELL Mom And Dad's 03:17    
  RICKY PARRELL My Bike Lock (intro) 00:25    
  RICKY PARRELL My Bike Lock 06:07    
 
 
 

RICKY PARRELL
"Keys To My Life"

Impacting: October 7 2019

Format(s): Jazz

 
 


FEATURING RANDY BRECKER &

SNARKY PUPPY'S JUSTIN STANTON


Ricky Parrell

Saxophonist and Composer

Ricky grew up in a household full of music. His father (Rick Parrell) spent 34 years in The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” (Washington D.C.) and served as their principal saxophonist. His mother, a clarinetist and sister a trumpet player.  After receiving many accolades in high-school as a saxophonist, as well as recording with a number of local groups, the only way forward for Parrell was music.
 
A graduate from George Mason University, he earned a Bachelor of Music Education. He went on to receive a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from the University of North Texas. His former teachers include his father, Rick Parrell Sr., Dale Underwood, Jim Carroll, Ed Fraedrich, Marty Nau, Eric Marienthal and Eric Nestler.
 
In 2012 Parrell won a highly competitive audition with the premier band of The United States Air Force, Washington D.C., and has been active duty with the band ever since. Parrell also continues to be an active performer and educator in the D.C. metro area.  He serves as an adjunct faculty member at Northern Virginia Community College where he teaches and specializes in both the jazz and classical idioms. 
 
His comfort in all performing styles led him to become a Vandoren Artist and Clinician and has appeared at such notable venues as The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas), The Eisemann Center (Dallas), The John F. Kennedy Center (Washington D.C) and Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts (Vienna, Virginia). He continues to be seen all over the country performing and giving masterclasses at Colleges and Universities.
 
His debut album KEYS TO MY LIFE is a culmination of years of study, practice and lessons learned along the bumpy road of life as a husband, parent, service member and musician.

OFFICIAL ALBUM TEASER!

MY BIKE LOCK - TEASER!

=============================================

KEYS TO MY LIFE 

It is a rare occasion that one can pinpoint a day and event that opened your world to a new perspective. That date was March 6, 2018 and the thing that opened me up to writing an album was an interview with writer Cheryl Strayed on the Outside Podcast: Dispatches, Cheryl Strayed’s Wild Creativity. 

Prior to listening to this podcast it had always been a dream to write my own album but I never knew where to begin. 
 

I needed to, in her words, “surrender to my own mediocrity and write like a mother f@<%er.”  In doing this I would find humility. 
 

In Humility is Strength 

I found that the pedestal of greatness was preventing me from doing what I really wanted to do. 

I had never written any original music because I never thought it would be as good as anything produced by my musical idols. The looming cloud of greatness (or failure to achieve greatness) was preventing me from even trying. 
 

I needed a starting point. 
 

In the podcast interview Cheryl Strayed suggested a writing prompt that she often uses. 

Write about myself and my experiences via a physical object. 

She said, and I’m paraphrasing... 
 

“If I made you take out your key chain and then write the story of every key, you will have written something very interesting and something very telling about your life."
 

I found this concept to be a powerful source of story and emotion. I adapted it to fit a musician’s perspective. I chose four keys on my keychain and decided to write four songs, each about a respective key and what that key represented. 
 

The four keys I chose were: WORK, MOM AND DAD’S, HOME, and MY BIKE LOCK.  From this launch pad a flow of creativity came pouring out of me like I have never felt before. All the years of studying music, performing, playing, and practicing coalesced into ideas and forms.  Every key represented feelings and emotions that expressed themselves in various musical styles....ranging from a jazz waltz, reggae, funk, bebop and beyond. 

These are... 
 

KEYS TO MY LIFE

 

=================================
 

US Air Force BAND Tour of Florida
Oct. 16 - Daytona Beach
Oct. 17 & 18 - Lake Buena Vista
Oct. 19 - Boca Raton
Oct. 20 - Palm Beach Springs
Oct. 21 - Miami Beach
Oct. 22 - Davie
Oct. 23 & 24 - Punta Gorda
Oct. 25 - Lakeland
Oct. 26 - Tampa
Oct. 27 - Spring Hill
 
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