The names Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, and Sonny Rollins come tumbling out of his mouth following the question “who are your biggest inspirations?” Your average person, especially your average teen, wouldn’t recognize these names as world renowned jazz musicians. But Kit Richards, of course, is far from average, and goes further than simply recognizing these musicians- he idolizes them. To Richards, any mention of jazz instruments, particularly the saxophone, initiates the same amount of excitement level as does conversation of sports, a television series, or pop culture in his peers, perhaps even more. One brief allusion to the instrument and we dove into a ten minute conversation on the subject alone.
But, before we could get into the nitty gritty, I was educated on the various types of saxophone. He explained it to me, a saxophone novice, with an air of confidence, displaying his expertise. Richards plays the tenor saxophone, or tenor “sax” as the professionals call it, which he describes as producing a “mellow range sound”. Alto saxophones have a higher pitch, sopranos have the highest, and baritone saxophones give off the lowest, bassiest sound.
His passion for the instrument was clearly evident from the start of our conversation, but his first interaction with the saxophone occurred a mere 5 years ago, even before Richards was a part of the Falls Church City school system. While attending Glasgow Middle School in Fairfax County, Richards added saxophone to his musical repertoire, after already having played the clarinet. While he still does bring out his clarinet from time to time, the saxophone has truly taken over his life. In the very beginning, he gravitated towards the instrument due to it being better suited for jazz music, his genre of choice.
Jazz music has always been a part of Richards’ life. “My parents used to put me to sleep to jazz,” he said. Just as his parents shared the beauty of music with him at such an early age, Richards’ mission is to share his music with others as well. However, this goal spans outside of just his household. In fact, it even spans outside of Virginia. Alongside his band Virginia Music Adventures, a community band composed of Virginia teens, Richards has traveled the country, performing for crowds. From California to Hawaii, he spends on average 5 days in each place, applying his hard work and gaining new musical knowledge. The most influential things he has done thus far, however, is bring his music all the way to Cuba. There, his band and the community bands of Cuba exchanged their variations of Jazz.
American jazz and Cuban jazz differ, explained Richards. “Cuban jazz is very latin and very straight time.” While widening his knowledge of the music he is so ardently a fan of, his eyes were opened to different people and places. He recognizes that music is very much part of any country’s life. “It’s a kind of a universal thing. [Music] is something that’s culturally and universally respected everywhere you go,” Richards explained. “People love musicians.”
Back at home, Richards is also a member of the George Mason High School band program, which, in comparison to his travels abroad, is a very different atmosphere. “The people are different, the environment is different, but it’s still enjoyable nonetheless” he commented.
Kit does hope to take band with him as he continues his education after high school, however, and has his path of choice picked out with certainty. His goal is to be accepted into the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. From there, we can only hope that his dedication to the instrument never falters. I can confidently guess that it never will, as it is evident with every word and every well thought out description of what music means to him. Maybe in the future, a high school student will be naming Kit Richards as one of their inspirations.
