Toledo native, Randy Richie, along with Dennis Sankovich, was the 1981 co-founder the Toledo Jazz Society (established for the purpose of creating the Toledo Jazz Orchestra).
Randy is a Liberal Arts graduate of the University of Toledo, where he was a founding member the UT Lab Band. After taking a year off to try to make it as a full-time jazz piano player, Randy went to law school at UT. Upon graduating, he went into the music business full-time, eventfully becoming the Sec-Treas. of the Toledo Federation of Musicians, co-founding the Toledo Jazz Society and playing for 5 years at the Cape House restaurant in Maumee.
After moving to Washington DC in 1983, Randy had a 35 year career producing corporate events for major DC trade associations where he engaged name artists such as Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Beach Boys, Johnny Mathis among others. He married Gretchen in 1988, eventually ending up in Leonardtown MD, where they performed at the local French restaurant for 15 years.
He is now retired and moved back to Toledo this past March.