BLAKMANINOV

By Ronnie Lynn Patterson

Born in 1958, the path that leads the pianist Ronnie Lynn Patterson from his native state of Mississippi to Paris is truly unique. In the crucible of various influences from both sides of the Atlantic, his playing and his personality are the unique reflection of a fabulous contemporary multiculturalism and an unusual openness.

Jazz comes to him from his father, a military medic who had the whole family moving around the world numerous times; Wichita, Mississippi, Spain… One day he is overwhelmed by listening to a record with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarret. It becomes a real musical shock that pushes him to learn piano in a self-taught way.

Inspired by Rachmaninov preludes and the profound effect these compositions had on Ronnie as a self-taught jazz musician willing to explore further. During hard times, finding the power and the strength in this music helped Ronnie forge his character and his musical persona overseas arriving in Paris in 1991. Times are hard and a life of struggle starts then. But music remains his eternal guide to light. He draws on the compositions of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Morton Feldman to find the hope and the strength to pull through.