Yesterday we lost a great one, a singular one. Emil Richards passed away and left the world with an unparalleled legacy in music and percussion. Having started playing the xylophone at age six, Emil ended up making music for over 80 years, and in so many styles and every corner of the globe that no one will likely duplicate his accomplishments. Above and beyond his playing, Emil also managed to amass what most people consider to be the largest one-person collection of percussion (and other) instruments ever assembled.
Emil’s career started taking off as a jazz vibraphonist, including stints with George Shearing and later, a world tour in 1962 with Frank Sinatra. After having been cajoled into picking up a few auxiliary percussion items when doing studio calls, he used the opportunity Sinatra’s plane afforded him to bring back the first of many loads of instruments collected from countries near and far. Thus began his love affair with unique and unusual sound sources and an unleashing of his musical imagination.
Having gained further interest in music of other cultures, at some point he became aware of Harry Partch. Emil began writing to Partch in Petaluma in the early 60s and when Partch moved to Van Nuys in 1964, Richards began a friendship that assisted Partch in various ways, notably by finding players from the pool of Los Angeles musicians to help perform his music. There were a number of one-off concerts in the ensuing years, along with the final recordings of “And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma”, and the well-known Whitney Museum Concerts in New York in 1968 (which lead to the recording of “The World of Harry Partch“). Lastly, Emil’s help in both playing and garnering other musicians was instrumental in the realization of Partch’s largest work, “Delusion of the Fury“ in 1969 at UCLA. Without the aid of noted philanthropist Betty Freeman, as well as Richards’ help, this magnum opus might never have been realized.
Emil at the Quad again, circa 1968, rocking the Madras shorts.
Photo: Harry Partch Estate Archive
Few people manage to have this wide of an impact, and if you are unfamiliar with Emil’s long career, it will be easy to find examples all over the net at the moment. From the iconic bongos on the “Mission: Impossible“ theme, touring and recording with artists such as George Harrison and Frank Zappa, to his own explorations of microtonality and complex metric structures, Emil never, ever stopped being delighted with the always-expanding world of music. Above and beyond these gifts and accomplishments, he was one of the most convivial people you could ever want to meet, a man for whom the term raconteur could have been invented. I was graced to meet him during the recording and filming of “The Dreamer That Remains“ and he always remained in touch after. When we performed “U.S. Highball“ at the Monday Evening Concerts in 1976, he wasn’t just in attendance, but insisted we come to his house and hang out. We did, until very wee hours, time filled with laughter and endless stories from Emil’s already colorful time on the planet. His remarkable zeal for life, music, and people carried all the way to the end.
We’ll leave with zesty notes from the man, at age 82, still laying down blistering blues lines with abandon. We give thanks to Emil for all he did for Harry, and for all that he has done for the world of music. We bid him Peace in his new digs.