Richard Terrill, tenor and soprano sax, has been performing with Larry McDonough since December 2001. He also has performed locally with guitarist Jim McGuire and with Chaz Draper's Uptown Jazz Quartet. He teaches creative writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
As a college student, Terrill was a member of the award winning University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Ensemble under Dominic Spera, which played Festivals with artists such as Gary Burton, Lou Marini, and Buddy Brisbois, and concerts with ensembles such as the Minnesota Orchestra. He performed regularly with future Grammy award-winning keyboardist Lyle Mays in the Lyle Mays Quartet, winner of the Midwest College Jazz Festival, and later with pianist Geoff Keezer. He has played in bands led by Myron Floren, Dick Dale, Larry Elgart, and Bob Crosby.
Terrill is the author of the poetry collections Coming Late to Rachmaninoff (University of Tampa Press, 2003), for which he received the 2004 Minnesota Book Award for Poetry, and more recently Almost Dark (University of Tampa Press, 2009). His jazz memoir is entitled Fakebook: Improvisations on a Journey Back to Jazz (Limelight Editions, 2000). His other literary work includes a memoir on teaching in China (Saturday Night in Baoding) and a children’s book on Duke Ellington.
Reviews:
“The poet's Midwestern roots and rich perspectives enrich this first collection by a widely published poet and prize-winning author of creative nonfiction. Terrill has an eye for the ironic and the beautiful, an ear for music and the music of language. As poet Peggy Shumaker says, these are ‘edgy’ and ‘tender’ poems of ‘music, family, grief, the possibility of love—they're all here.’” University of Tampa Press.
“Masterful use of language and subject matter keeps readers engaged and emotionally invested. Blends traditional style with innovation.” Minnesota Book Award Judges’ Comments.
Coming Late to Rachmaninoff
Hardback, $20.00
Paperback, $12.00
Almost Dark
Hardback, $22.00
Paperback, $12.00
Saturday Night in Baoding: A China Memoir
Paperback, $14.00
