Richard B. Ball has been playing woodwinds for over 30 years. He is the saxophonist, flautist, bassist and primary composer for the aggressive world-beat jazz band Before the Rain, which is based out of Evergreen, Colorado. Richard plays a diverse selection of music. He grew up playing be-bop and free jazz, which is currently heavily influenced by world instruments and cultural music.

On a softer side, Richard plays a variety of cultural flutes. He is an accomplished performer and student maker of the Native American Flute and a member of the International Native American Flute Association. He continues studies in Indian Classical flute (bansuri) and the traditional Zen flute of Japan (Shakuhachi.) Richard plays a number of other flutes, including the elusive Chinese Xiao, Hopi Flute, Irish Whistle, Russian Svirel, pan pipes and quena. Richard plays and records solo flute music which is relaxing and revitalizing.

Richard's current solo projects include multi-instrumental improvisations using "looping" technology. This technology allows the player to record track in 'real time' and then overlay multiple tracks of various sorts. In Richard's case this often means a different instrument. Richard is currently creating world-oriented rhythms and sounds using a variety of instruments, including the cajon (a Peruvian percussion instrument that is essentially a wooden crate you pound on), the berimbau (a single stringed bow amplified by a gourd from Brazil, of African origin), the kalimba (African thumb piano), dumbek and djembe(North African drums), Endingi (Uganda spike or tube fiddle), Thumb harp (a Central African instrument that has string attached to a gourd played with the thumbs) bass, guitars and flutes and saxophones. Look for selections from these improvisations on the recordings page. Richard also has a MySpace page at http://myspace.com/ballflutes2.

In addition to performing with Before the Rain, Richard has written and recorded music for independent films, including "Dumpster Diver," "Black Jack Boy" and "Several Things Intended Not to Hurt You." He is the musical director of the Norma Spirit Foundation, which provides arts and culture programs for the Jefferson County Schools Day Treatment Programs, where he teaches special education and music.

Selections of many varieties of his music are available by clicking the "Recordings" button below, and by going to "free downloads" at the beforetherainband.com website.

Before the Rain is available to play venues and festivals in the Denver and Colorado mountain areas. Richard is also available to play for restaurants and events where a relaxing atmosphere is called for. He can be contacted by clicking the "Contact" link below.

Richard has joined forces with guitarist Paul Mimlitsch to form a duo called "Concept." Mellow/ meditative soundscapes evolving seamlessly into angular free jazz excursions .... "Concept" was created to serve as a vehicle for the free exchange/ exploration of musical ideas and to create/ present these musical explorations in public performance. With an approach grounded in improvisation and spontaneous composition, "Concept" combines various elements - free jazz, world music, ambient soundscapes, etc. - into a cohesive whole. Original themes or interpretations of standards may serve as a starting point or become evident during a performance based on the combined experiences and interaction of the core and guest performers. Utilizing various looping devices to create evolving collages of sound also allows "Concept" to create a bigger sound than one would expect from a duo. Visit Paul's website at http://homepage.mac.com/pmimlitsch/. "Concept" has just released its first CD "Concept: Conversations." samples of this CD can be heard by clicking 'recordings' below, and it can be purchased at CD Baby. Check the Concept MySpace page at http://myspace.com/conceptwithpaulmimlitschandrichardball.