The Richard Walton Group

The Richard Walton Group is an accomplished Maryland -based, award-winning original contemporary jazz group. Formed in 1991 after being chosen as a semi-finalist in a Mid-Atlantic Budweiser sponsorship, Richard and his band have gained regional and national recognition through airplay, songwriting contests, and performances. The group has received honorable mention in the Music Monthly's readers' polls as Best Mid-Atlantic Group (Instrumental & Jazz) over the past four years. Richard and the group are currently working on writing and recording new material for Richard's fifth release, due for an early 2000 release.

The group has performed in the Mid-Atlantic region including the Lexington Market, Max's On Broadway, Stephen's Hall Theatre, Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, Centennial Park, various Columbia Village Centers, the Baltimore Book Festival, the Towsontowne Festival, the Catonsville Arts and Crafts Festival, the Ellicott Theatre, the Lurman Woodland Theatre, the Read Street Festival, Baltimore's 8 X 10 Club, Armadillo's and Spike and Charlie's.

MEMBERS

Andrew Davidsen (Electric Guitar)

The latest addition to the group, Andrew actually performed briefly with the band in 1994. Andrew studied commercial music and music performance at Essex Community College. His R & B / jazz background and smooth riffs are a perfect combination for Richard's music. Besides being a Mid-Atlantic studio musician, Andrew has performed and toured with reggae group Regatta 69, R&B group Touch and with pianist Eric Melvin.

Joe Doyle ( Saxophones, Flute, Keyboards, Back-up Vocals)

A complete musician, Joe has performed professionally for over 20 years. Joe has recorded and played professionally for television, radio, concerts, clubs and private affairs. He has taken MIDI technology at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and he was a Liberal Arts Music major at Prince Georges Community College.

Eric Robertson (Drums)

Eric has performed in a variety of musical venues, including big-band, straight-ahead jazz and hard rock. A Heidelberg College graduate in Music, Eric traveled with the Heidelberg Collegians specializing in the performance of Broadway show tunes. Eric also performs with Richard in their rock trio, BOINK!

David Meer (Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Vocals)

David is a founding member of the Richard Walton Group. A self-taught musician, David's musical training includes music theory at the University of Maryland. He has been performing professionally for over 20 years. David's unrecorded song "Touch My Life" received Honorable Mention in the 1980 American Songwriters' Contest.

Richard Walton (Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals)

Richard is a self-taught musician who has been composing, performing and producing original music for over a decade. Besides leading the Richard Walton Group, Richard other projects include performing with the rock trio BOINK!, and pursuing a successful solo career.

During his career, Richard has worked with a wide variety of artists such as Crack the Sky, Badfinger, Steve Hackett (Genesis), Kevin Ayers (Soft Machine), Poco, Savoy Brown, and Rick Derringer. Richard's original music is heard on many North American radio stations, including WTMD-FM and WJFK-AM/FM.

His influences include the following:

Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Poco, Aaron Copeland, Django Reinhardt, The Hollies, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, any Motown artist, The Mahavishu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Djavan, Buffalo Springfield, The Dells, The Byrds, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jesse Colin Young, Jimmy Webb, Carole King, Wes Montgomery, Van Morrison, Prince, Todd Rundgren, NRBQ, Jeff Beck, Tommy Bolin, Phil Keaggy and Pat Metheny.