Writer, arranger, performer, keyboardist, programmer, producer and arranger Ric Sandler; is a man permeated with talent and accomplishment. Sixty-three instruments are presented in his latest CD RHYTHM UNDER GROUND, which remains accessible yet identifiable in a totally lush soundscape. 

A musical wunderkind, Ric grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania performing the classics with distinct professionalism before he was seven. In his early teens, he was already writing and performing original ‘serious’ works for his high school and a local playhouse. 

But, this prodigious classical talent had a large pop component as well. Ric had his own rock band by age eleven, and by fifteen, he and his band was backing up the legendary R&B master Lloyd Price and opening shows for The Soul Survivors and The Rascals. By the time he graduated high school, Sandler had already been signed to an exclusive publishing contract that led him to Los Angeles and all it implies.

Ric wrote prolifically for the next fifteen years for various publishers such as Sony Music and Warner Chappell and recorded for himself. He collaborated with John Lilley of the Hooters. He was also an in-demand session player, working with such legends as Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, Larry Carlton, Lee Sklar, and the Porcaro brothers, as well as doing lead vocals on some studio group hits during the seventies.

While superstars like Dionne Warwick, Jermaine Jackson and Anne Murray were recording his songs, he was also scoring TV shows and films, including Ralph Bakshi’s Warner Bros. film “Hey Good Lookin,” touring with Tanya Tucker, playing with Chuck Berry, and working the club circuit, as well. In 2000 The Dixie Hummingbirds did one of Ric’s songs on their Grammy nominated album, “Music in the Air.

In the newest chapter of the Sandler odyssey, this master of multiple genres has resettled on the New Jersey coast and has used his wealth of experience to create a vibrant new sound The resulting album, a multi-textured wonder called RHYTHMUNDERGROUND a distinctive and highly charged fusion of American rock, soul, and jazz. His unique pop music style reveals many musical layers and surprises. Released on his own label in 2002, RHYTHMUNDERGROUND has so far yielded two Top 20 radio hits, RUBIES and I’LL LET YA KNOW.

Ric is currently singing his inspirational songs and spreading his unique sound and message in churches up and down the east coast with his group THE MESSENGERS as well as appearing with groups like the BLIND BOYS OF MISSISSIPPI and THE SOUL STIRRERS. He is planning on releasing a live inspirational CD by year’s end.