About Rick Lazar

Rick Shadrach Lazar – Artistic Director

Rick was voted Percussionist of the Year five times by Jazz Report magazine. A uniquely versatile musician, Lazar is involved in a wide variety of innovative projects. He leads the Juno-nominated global jazz ensemble Montuno Police and has produced and released 4 CDs with this group: Bang, Juno-Nominated Touch, The Call, and Nomads. Rick has toured/recorded with such artists as Bruce Cockburn, Barry White, Paul Shaffer, Brian Hughes, Jesse Cook and Loreena McKennitt.

Rick is also the creator and artistic director of Samba Squad and has written, produced and released 3 CDs with this group: Samba Squad, Batuque and Que Beleza.

He is an educator at York University (ESCOLA DE SAMBA and CUBAN MUSIC courses). Lazar has developed hands-on workshop techniques, which are being successfully used in the Samba Kidz and Samba Teens programs. Rick’s knowledge of world drums and passion make him a unique percussionist who is first call for a diverse array of artists.

Download Rick Lazar’s biography: Rick Lazar Biography