Saxophonist
Rick Margitza is a sophisticated jazz improviser and composer with a style that touches upon hard bop and contemporary jazz with nods to Latin, Brazilian, and other musical traditions. He first attracted attention playing with
Miles Davis' late-'80s group before establishing himself as a leader and releasing a handful of Top 20 Billboard jazz albums on Blue Note, including 1991's
This Is New. He has also worked with artists like
Maynard Ferguson,
Airto Moreira,
Andy LaVerne,
John Fedchock,
Martial Solal,
Jean-Michel Pilc, and others. Based in France since 2003,
Margitza brings a globally minded approach to his own work, drawing upon his Hungarian roots as well as his love of classical, fusion, and vocal jazz, as on 2021's
Sacred Hearts.
Born in 1961,
Margitza grew up in Dearborn, Michigan in a musical family of Hungarian Romani descent. He initially started out playing the violin at age four after being introduced to the instrument by his grandfather, a cellist, and father, a violinist who played with the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Margitza moved on to oboe and clarinet before settling on the tenor saxophone in his teens, inspired by players like
Wayne Shorter,
Michael Brecker, and
John Coltrane. After high school, he studied music at Wayne State University, Berklee College of Music, and the University of Miami, before finishing his studies at Loyola University in New Orleans. He also toured as a member of
Maynard Ferguson's band before relocating to New York City. It was there that he joined
Miles Davis' group, appearing on the trumpeter's 1988 album
Amandla.
As a leader,
Margitza made his solo debut with 1988's
Color on Blue Note. A septet album featuring pianist
Joey Calderazzo, guitarist
Steve Masakowski, bassist
Marc Johnson, drummer
Adam Nussbaum, and percussionist
Airto Moreira, it hit number nine on the Billboard jazz chart. He followed with a second Blue Note album, 1990's
Hope, on which he augmented his group with
Calderazzo,
Masakowski, and
Moreira, bringing on board
Weather Report drummer
Peter Erskine. A third Blue Note date,
This Is New, arrived the following year and found him working in a lean acoustic quartet with pianist
Calderazzo, bassist
Robert Hurst, and drummer
Jeff "Tain" Watts. Both albums fared well, reaching the Top 20 of Billboard's jazz chart. Along with leading his own groups,
Margitza found himself in-demand during this period, recording with artists like
Niels Lan Doky,
Bob Belden,
Maria Schneider,
Andy LaVerne, and
Eddie Gomez.
In the mid-'90s,
Margitza shifted toward working with smaller independent labels and releasing a handful of hard-hitting straight-ahead albums, including 1995's
Hands of Time on Challenge Records with pianist
Kevin Hays, bassist
George Mraz, and drummer
Al Foster. That same year, he released Work It on the SteepleChase label, which again featured
Mraz, along with pianist
James Williams, and drummer
Billy Hart. He joined pianist Jeff Gardner for 1997's Second Home and rounded out the decade with 1997's
Game of Chance on Challenge with Gardner, bassist
Lars Danielsson, and drummer
Johnny Vidacovich.
In 2000, he moved to the Palmetto label for
Heart of Hearts, a driving post-bop album with longtime associate
Calderazzo, bassist
Scott Colley, and drummer
Ian Froman. A year later, he released
Memento, which found him backed by pianist
Mulgrew Miller, bassist
Colley, and drummer
Brian Blade. It was also in the early 2000s that
Margitza moved to France, settling in Paris. Along with playing in the
Paris Jazz Big Band, the saxophonist has continued to work steadily, playing with a bevy of European improvisers, including
Martial Solal,
François Moutin,
Ari Hoenig,
Jean-Michel Pilc, and
Manuel Rocheman, among them. In 2005, he released Bohemia, a globally minded album featuring contributions by bassist Ricardo del Fra, guitarist
Olivier Louvel, drummer
Jeff Boudreaux, and others, and session playing followed with John Fedchok and
Quentin Mosimann. He also collaborated with fellow tenor players
Tony Lakatos and
Gabor Bolla on 2017's Gypsy Tenors. In 2021,
Margitza released
Sacred Hearts, which again found him working with a similar group as his Bohemia album and playing a breezy, '60s-influenced sound. ~ Matt Collar