Joshua Rich brings his cross-generational show to Live!
On Woodrow Wilson Plaza for a potpourri of his tuneful, witty songs for all ages. A master on the keyboard of jazz, rock and classical styles, he writes lyrics that tickle the funny bone one minute and propel the listener to save mankind the next.
“My show on the plaza will be an upbeat hybrid program that includes humorous kid songs, jazz for the adults, some classics and original songs with an environmental emphasis,” he says. “I’ll also include a few pieces from ‘It’s a global thing,’ my new multicultural CD, and from my upcoming album about being a dad. I love watching kids develop musically. They are the future.”
Often, local PTAs engage Rich to work with children in their school, sometimes in residencies during which he writes a musical play based on the curriculum. The culminating activity is the student performance of his work. His song and album titles are unique in that they all appear in lower case. This touch reflects his admiration of the gentleness, simplicity and subtleness of poet e. e. cummings.
He wrote ‘hold on’ for the American Cancer Society¹s relay for life, ‘best of me’ for a friend’s wedding, ‘gonna get a haircut’ to remove a childhood fear of the barber and ‘trying vegetables’ to ease qualms at the dinner table. “The first song I wrote was ‘trying vegetables’ at age 12, and it’s still a favorite of my audiences,” he says. “Adults and kids both like it because the lyrics are fun and it¹s written in a style reminiscent of The Beatles.”
“I was inspired to write ‘Talking to furniture’ when a friend asked me to paint some furniture and I traded the work for child care. Upon finding myself talking to the furniture, I began writing songs that became a symbol of different personal relationships, some coming together, others falling apart.”
Now a resident of the Washington area, Rich grew up in suburban Boston admiring the styles of such diverse artists as Scott Joplin, Gershwin, Mozart and The Beatles.
Along with performing, composing, conducting and arranging music, he has served as musical director for gala events featuring such celebrities as composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch, Sen. Hillary Clinton and actor Peter Ustinov. Following his appearance at Twins Lounge Jazz Club in D.C. on Aug. 23, he will begin broadcasting on XM Satellite Radio’s Kids Channel so families can enjoy listening together as they travel in the car.
“Music is crucial to everyone, even though they may not know it,” he says. “I could make a strong case for bringing music and the arts in general to schools and the world. Music is invaluable in healing and in conveying joy, happiness and the feeling that anything is possible.”
