After spending his teenage years gigging in rock bands in the Boston area (and once opening for Stevie Ray Vaughn), multi-instrumentalist Rick Bishop moved to the small town of Waterville, Maine, and got caught up in the thriving jazz scene. He explored the clubs and met some jazz musicians from the University of Maine’s music program who convinced him to play for their professor. After one lively and free-flowing jam session, the professor not only offered Bishop a scholarship, he joined what later became the Rick Bishop Jazz Quartet.

Most of the Waterville clubs have closed, and the jazz scene in the picturesque town is not what it used to be, but the Rick Bishop Jazz Quartet still plays local colleges and auditoriums. And Rick himself has released What 4, a funky, flowing, suave and sophisticated collection of jazz compositions that have earned raves from JazzRadio247, Indie-Music.com, and JazzReview.com, not to mention many music fans who thought they just didn’t get jazz.

The accessibility of the sound is due in part to the wide range of musical influences Rick mixes in, including big band, blues, funk, and good old-fashioned rock and roll that would earn the Elvis stamp of approval. But there’s also the allure of romance. The vibe of What 4 conjures up cappuccino cafes, after-dinner cigars and brandy, Sinatra and film noir. But if you ask Rick, it’s the playful nature of jazz that lures them in every time.

"What’s so beautiful about jazz, especially for me as a bass player," he explains, "is that every note I’m playing, I’m inventing. I can improvise the solos. I’m free to create. Jazz is so spontaneous and creative. No song is ever played the same way twice."

While Rick may revel in the free-spirited nature of jazz, he is still a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his recordings. (He admits he once spent twelve hours working with a percussionist on one song.) He also brings his artistic profession into the real world – he’s been teaching music for thirty years, encouraging young people to focus on the basic building blocks of music before trying to tackle the musical stylings of Metallica or Pantera.

He promotes his music on CDBaby and maintains a web site with a journalistic purpose, collecting links to sites about Maine’s history and music scene as well as more information on the bass guitar and bass players than one would probably find on any online encyclopedia.

He also seeks inspiration in nature, hiking through the mountains surrounding his home and thanking the powers that be for the lack of gift shops and Starbucks cafes. He looks forward to promoting What 4, not in pursuit of superstardom for but the satisfaction of playing his music differently each time, inventing as he goes.