Richard Francis Wyands, born on July 2, 1928, in Oakland, California, was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He began playing piano when he was around the age of 7 and started his professional career in San Francisco in 1944. Wyands earned a degree in music from San Francisco State College in 1950. In the early 1950s, he was part of Vernon Alley's group at the Black Hawk club in San Francisco. He served as music director for vocalist Ella Fitzgerald in 1956 and later toured with Carmen McRae before moving to New York in 1958. In New York, he performed with notable jazz artists such as Roy Haynes and Charles Mingus, and during the 1960s he worked with Illinois Jacquet and from 1965 to 1974 collaborated extensively with guitarist Kenny Burrell. Throughout his career, Wyands also released several albums as a leader, including Reunited (1995), Get Out of Town (1997), Half and Half (2000), and As Long as There’s Music (2001). He passed away on September 25, 2019, in New York.
