Tenor saxophonist Rick Margitza became a member of what was probably Miles Davis’s finest group during the trumpeter’s electric era in 1988, and toured and recorded with him for two years, including albums for Warner such Amandla featuring the production expertise and immaculate bass playing of Marcus Miller.
But Margitza has also worked with many more leading artists, including McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Bobby Hutcherson, Maria Schneider and Maynard Ferguson. He has recorded many albums as a leader, for labels including Blue Note, Steeplechase and Palmetto, and his latest recording, Sacred Hearts, was release in 2021 on the Le Coq label.
He is on a UK tour, with appearances at Pizza Express Live in London and at Jazz Hastings, and following the concert at Eastside Jazz Club, part of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, his UK quartet appears on Friday 26 January at Leeds Conservatoire.
Margitza – a muscular player in the hard bop style – has a top-drawer UK rhythm section: pianist Will Barry, bassist Mark Hodgson and drummer Stephen Keogh. A rhythm section chosen for a short tour with a star soloist can sometimes seem slightly disconnected from the featured artist – but exceptional performances are possible when the players “lock in” with the soloist. Achieving this unity is something of a jazz mystery, requiring more than skilled musicianship. But this group locked in very quickly – playing with single-minded drive from the opening number, Rick’s own composition “August In Paris”.
Margitza plays with great passion – frequently hitting the high harmonics on the instrument with ferocious intensity. But he can be witty with his phrasing too: He concluded Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” with the riff from John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”.
The ballad “Cry Me A River” opened with an eloquent solo piano feature by Barry, and concluded with a long, elaborate, passionate and hugely satisfying cadenza from Margitza. Second set highlights included Rick’s intense tune “Walts”, with outstanding playing by Barry, Hodgson and Keogh.
Margitza moved to Paris in 2003, and has worked with many outstanding French musicians including the great pianist Martial Solal. After the Leeds concert Rick travel back to France to resume his weekly appearances at the La Gare jazz club, a former railway station in Paris 19e (on Monday nights from 29 January), a venue where he has performed for five years with his French quartet.

Mention should also be made of the support band of RBC students and graduates at Eastside: alto saxophonist Nathan Evans led a confident quintet through mainly original pieces. But for a version of Billy Strayhorn’s ballad “Chelsea Bridge”, pianist Nick Manz created a really beautiful arrangement – quite epic in scope, and played with great sensitivity.