Randy Rigby & Ed Edwards
Featured on guitars and keyboards,
Randy is a studio & touring veteran. He has performed with a long
list of artists, including Bill Medley (Righteous Brothers), Richie
Furay (Poco), as well as jazz artists Abraham Laboriel, Kim Stone (Rippingtons)
and many others. Randy is a powerful and innovative soloist, as well
as one of the co-founders and principal writers for the band. He was
born in Pensacola, Florida and grew up in the Los Angeles recording
world before finding his way to Denver, Colorado in the late 80’s.
Ed is the co-founder of BLUE LATITUDE, whose singing and guitar
playing has captivated audiences wherever the band performs. Ed hails
from Los Angeles, California, where he paid his musical dues playing
gigs all over the West Coast, before relocating to Denver, Colorado.
Besides the musical and composing skills that he brings to Blue
Latitude, Ed also produces, engineers and mixes the band’s
recordings. He has been influenced by Pat Metheny, Wes Mongomery, Pat
Martino and Jimi Hendrix
The Band
JIM FLETCHER / BASS
Another studio and touring veteran, Jim flawlessly holds down the
band’s funky bottom on fretted and fretless basses. “Fletch” was
born and raised in Riverside, Calfornia, relocating to Golden,
Colorado in the early 90’s to be a part of Blue Latitude. Jim was
influenced heavily by bassist Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power and
Weather Report’s, Jaco Pastorius
DEAN KIELIAN / DRUMS
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Dean has been playing in front of
audiences since he was 14. He is a master of rhythm, whose performing
credits include John Tesh and Abraham Laboriel. His musical influences
include Tower of Power, Chick Corea & The Yellow Jackets. Dean’s
dynamic command of world rhythms & percussion is one of the
highlights of every show that the band performs.
PAUL RIGBY / Keyboards, Guitar
Another Colorado native, Paul is a gifted muti-instrumentalist, who
plays with soul and experience beyond his years. He is a junior at
Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch by day and keeps busy at
night performing with Blue Latitude, as well as his own band. In
addition, he is currently the guitarist with the musical "Robin
Hood" at the Pinnacle Theater in Littleton, Colorado.
Paul's rapidly expanding musical vocabulary has come from transcribing
songs from a wide range of artists, including Stevie Wonder, Herbie
Hancock, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rush & Led Zeppelin.
El Encanto
After producing records and touring with
Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco), Righteous Brother Bill Medley
and dozens of other indie & national artists, guitarist/keyboardist
Randy Rigby has joined guitarist/vocalist Ed Edwards for a recording
with their new band Blue Lattitude.
Their new debut album, El Encanto,
finds Edwards & Rigby moving out front with an all-new collection of
contemporary & smooth jazz compositions, with funky Latin-tinged
rhythms, soulful vocals and dramatic arrangements. Tracks such as the
burning title track “El Encanto” and the sultry, “Soul Shadows,”
display Ed and Randy’s musical maturity and prove that they have
become considerable recording artists of their own.
“With our production company, we’ve
been producing and playing on a lot of other people’s records for
years,” says Rigby, “so we just wanted to make a recording of a band
of our own creation and see the music that we’ve been composing come
to life. We’re really hoping for a label to get behind what we’re
doing, but the worst-case scenario is that we’ll continue to enjoy
playing our own music with a band made up of people that we love dearly.”
Edwards & Rigby’s powerful live performances are complemented by a
stellar lineup of musicians, who were previously Rock & Roll Hall of
Famer, Richie Furay’s touring band. “We originally began performing
around LoDo (Denver’s artsy Lower Downtown) simply because we needed a
break from the confines of our music production facility”, explains
Ed. “Our studio was surrounded by all these great music spots and we
started getting requests from some local club owners to bring our band
in.”
5 years of performing weekly at
Denver’s Sambuca Restaurant, a rare & classy combination of
concert venue and restaurant, has created an ever-increasing following
for Ed and Randy. The clamoring for a CD of the original material has
been ongoing and they have responded with grateful enthusiasm.
“We’ve grown up listening and playing
jazz, but we are not purists by any means, because we love the diverse
styles of music that have sprung up in America over the past 100 years;
jazz, blues, gospel, r&b, folk & country”, Randy preaches.
“We like to think that music is ultimately all about the people, who
respond to memorable melodies as well as skillful improvisation.”
Where it’s all leading is hard to tell
just yet, but Blue Latitude will be hitting the road
aggressively in 2007 to promote the new CD. “Our fans in Denver have
been so supportive so we’re hoping to find the same favor with
audiences in other cities around the US”.
Be sure to catch Blue Latitude
at one of their shows as they tour around the US. You won’t be
disappointed. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to pick up the CD!
