Jason Ricci was born on February 3,1974 and is an American harmonica player and singer.
15 Facts About Jason Ricci
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Jason Ricci was named "Best Harmonica Player" at the 2010 Blues Music Awards, and performed on Grammy winning 2014 Johnny Winter album Step Back.
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In February 2015, Jason Ricci played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Paul Shaffer Band, Tom Morello and Zac Brown to induct The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
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Jason Ricci started performing in punk bands at the age of 14.
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Jason Ricci further developed his playing style listening to and emulating Little Walter, Paul Butterfield, Pat Ramsey, and Adam Gussow.
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Jason Ricci has directly referenced Pat Ramsey as a major influence in his developing a fast pentatonic approach to his playing, stating he prefers to be deliberate in his note choice in favor of speed for "speed's sake".
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In 1995, Jason Ricci moved from Portland to Memphis, TN, where shortly thereafter he placed first in the Sonny Boy Blues Society contest at 21 years of age.
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In Memphis, Ricci began playing with David Malone Kimbrough, son of Junior Kimbrough, and soon was a part of the bands of both Kimbroughs and was sitting in with R L Burnside.
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In 1999, Jason Ricci won the Mars National Harmonica Contest, and began playing with Keith Brown, later recording with him as well.
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Jason Ricci won the Blues Critic Award for Harmonica Player of the Year and was nominated for a Blues Music Award for Harmonica Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010.
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Jason Ricci received "Best Harmonica Player" at the May 6,2010 Blues Music Awards.
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Jason Ricci played harmonica on the song "My Babe" on Johnny Winter's 2014 album Step Back.
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In 2018, Jason Ricci received Blues Music Award nominations both for best harmonica instrumentalist and best rock blues artist, of which he was awarded best harmonica instrumentalist.
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Jason Ricci participates as an Expert Guide in the Harmonica Collective, an annual conference for harmonica players wishing to improve their skills and collaborate with other musicians, which he co-founded with Winslow Yerxa in 2013.
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Jason Ricci has appeared as a guest harmonica player with Johnny Winter, Nick Curran, Ana Popovic, Walter Trout, Cedric Burnside, The Mannish Boys, Altered Five Blues Band and Joe Louis Walker among others.