Richard Sussman, born in 1946 in the United States, is an American jazz and fusion pianist, bassist, composer, and arranger. He began his career in the late 1960s performing with ensembles such as Blood, Sweat & Tears and Little Anthony & the Imperials. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Sussman collaborated with artists including Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, David Sanborn, and Donna Summer. In 1978, he released the album Free Fall on the Double Time label. His work as a composer integrates jazz rhythms with contemporary structures, evidenced in pieces like “Dialogue for Jazz Band & Orchestra”. Sussman also contributed synthesizer programming to Randy Brecker’s album Into the Sun. He joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in 1986 to teach jazz composition. In addition to commercial music production and film scores, his discography includes the 2016 album The Evolution Suite.
