Rick Margitza (born October 24, 1961) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Biography

Margitza's paternal grandfather, a Hungarian Gypsy violinist, taught him to play the violin at the age of four. His father also played violin with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Following this he played piano and oboe, and settled on tenor sax while in Fordson High School. He attended several colleges: Wayne State University, Berklee College of Music, University of Miami, and Loyola University New Orleans. He toured with Maynard Ferguson and Flora Purim in the 1980s, and moved to New York City in 1988, where he played with Miles Davis. Between 1989 and 1991, Margitza released three albums for Blue Note Records, Color, Hope and This Is New. Q Magazine described Hope as "a soft, glancing rather affected record". During his career he has recorded mostly with others, including with Eddie Gómez, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson, Maria Schneider, McCoy Tyner, and Chick Corea. He has also composed a saxophone concerto and two symphonies for orchestra. Since moving to Paris in 2003, he has performed with Martial Solal, François Moutin, Louis Moutin, Ari Hoenig, Franck Amsallem, Jean-Michel Pilc, and Manuel Rocheman.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Miles Davis With John Fedchock With Andy LaVerne With Lou Rawls With Maria Schneider With others