Robert Ri.

Robert "Gary" was born in Detroit, started playing guitar at the age of 12, and at 14 began playing bass as well. He has continued to play both for 40 years.
Growing up Gary’s mom was a talented amateur pianist and loved jazz, and his stepfather was a country music dj so his home was filled with music. Gary’s influences early on included Jazz players like Ray Brown, Jaco Pastorius, Ron Carter, Eddie Gomez, and R&B players like James Jamerson and Chuck Rainey. On guitar Gary was influenced by Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Joe Pass, and Johnny Smith as well as Bluesmen like B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy and many others.  As a kid Gary played in Pop and Rock bands but was lucky enough to have an older friend that worked at a Blues Club in Ft. Lauderdale so he got to listen to a lot of Blues in the early 60's. Being exposed to so many styles and genres of music, it is not surprising that Gary’s musical resume includes, Jazz, Blues, R&B,  Oldies, Big Band, Show Tunes and more.
Gary’s love of music led him to The University of Miami where he earned a Bachelors degree in Jazz Performance and a Masters in Jazz teaching.
Gary has performed with top artists such as Peter Ponzol, Dick Hyman, Don Friedman, Alann Harris, The Boca Jazz Rats Big Band, Terry Wilson, Patty Wicks, Billy Marcus, Mitch Woods, Ben E King, The Coasters, J.P. Soars and The Redhots, Terry Hanck,  the Bobby Nathan Band, and more.
Until recently, Gary was bassist for the  2009 International Blues Challenge winning band J.P. Soars and the Redhots. Gary is also an adjunct professor of Jazz Studies at Florida Atlantic University and continues to play locally.