January 16, 1989

The New Yorker Magazine

Paul Shaffer had to wait until he was twelve before he got to Las Vegas for the first time. It was April, 1962. "We stayed at the Riviera," Shaffer-the bandleader and musical director of NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman"-recalled when I spoke with him recently.

"Chancellor's dinner: parents; the mayor; local dignitaries; friends who had come up for this thing. It was a little bit deadly. But I had my troops there. Rick Lazar-we used to refer to him as Funky Ricky. He's got a band in Toronto now. He was the only one who didn't have a straight job.

"Ricky-Funky Ricky-was always ahead of his time. He is of Assyrian origin, this guy. He has very dark skin, and so in the old days, as a sixteen year-old kid, he had a look about him. He looked like Willy DeVille looks now, or something. And pointed shoes. He was into dressing. He dressed outlandishly way back then, way before his 'time. Even after I went away to college - even after I came to New York - I used to go back home and see Ricky, to find out what was happening. Down in his little basement, where, he had his apartment set up in his parents' place, he kept up. He had a stack of Downbeat magazines: he knew what was going on. More so than I did. His contribution to the party was a version of James Brown's 'Living in America.' With special lyrics-'Living in-a Thunder Bay.' And at the very end of it, quoting from the Young Rascals, he turned to me and said, 'Doctor, Doctor, Mr. Ph.D. Play some-funky organ -play it one time for me.' Then I went into a solo. It was a killing moment.

Drums etc

by T.Bruce Wittet

Volume 3 No 5, November - December 1999

The Call
Rick Shadrach Lazar
Montuno Police
I took Toronto percussionist Rick Lazar out to lunch, paid the bill myself, just so I could bear him talk. Maybe some of his 'cool' would rub off on me. After all, New Yorker magazine, quoting bandleader Paul Shaffer, devoted half a column to this very important facet of Rick's demeanor.

Seriously, if everything after the first track, 'Dr Seuss' were blank, my day would be richer for the groove - train beat comme Latin - inflicted by Lazar and Kelso. You know, we romanticize Memphis rhythm sections but we could be looking much closer to home. Add trumpeter and special guest Randy Brecker to the usual bunch - Hugh Marsh, Collin Barret, Lester Boyke, John Johnson, and Gordon Sheard - and it's infallible. Mostly recorded live, this CD is the tightest, most exciting to have come down the pike in ages. For example, you will rarely hear Songo as exciting as 'Mambo Squad.' Rick's percussion covers the full bandwidth: It's no big deal to clatter around in the upper registers; he's got all the lower-mids down, as well. New Yorker got it right.

The Toronto Star

Saturday, October 9, 1999
World Music Reviews by Geoff Chapman

The Call

The T.O. based band always manages to sound as if it has absorbed world influences without sliding down the slippery path to nowhere (as in fusion), probably because percussionist Lazar is at the helm and his Police buddies are so versatile - reedman John Johnson, keysman Gord Sheard and violinist Hugh Marsh in particular. The core beat, courtesy of bass Collin Barrett and drummer Mark Kelso, is always uplifting as on samba-reggae "Dr Seuss", the funky "4-Day Runner" and Cuban tribute "Mambo Squad". American guest trumpeter Randy Brecker catches the spirit.

The Jazz Report

In a country where mainstream jazz rules, it's unfortunate Montuno Police will never garner the attention or airplay they would surely attract south of the border. Rick Lazar has assembled and rehearsed his unit to completeness. Keyboardist Gord Sheard provides the group with several originals primed with quirky melodic lines and elaborate counterpoint. This recording is contemporary in every sense of the word.