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CEDIA Expo | Events | News
August 27, 2019

CE Pro All-Star Band Member Profile: Rick Santiago, Indy Audio Labs

Rick Santiago of Indy Audio Labs picked up the sax during his freshman year of high school and since then, the instrument has served as a major part of his life, including his electronics career.
Robert Archer  
Rick Santiago of Indy Audio Labs has been playing sax for decades, and at CEDIA Expo 2019 he will join the CE Pro All-Star Band to play with fellow industry members.
Article:
CEDIA Expo | Events | News
August 27, 2019

CE Pro All-Star Band Member Profile: Rick Santiago, Indy Audio Labs

When he is not developing amplification products to reproduce music and movie soundtracks, Rick Santiago of Indy Audio Labs, is probably gigging somewhere in Indianapolis.  

Santiago is an avid saxophonist. He likes to play jazz and rock styles and currently plays semi-professionally with a band called Joyswing that consists of local music educators and gigging musicians in the Indianapolis area.

Picking up the instrument during his freshman year in high school in Milwaukee, Wisc., where he grew up, Santiago says that playing the sax happened as a chance occurrence.

“I like to say that I became a musician by accident. I was always the visual arts kid in the class in grade school. I remember registering for my first semester high school classes and the high school teacher who was getting my classes lined up asked me if I preferred music or art. I quickly answered 'art' of course, to which she responded, 'Okay, we’ll put you in the band—you need to move outside your comfort zone.' So I joined the band and learned to play the sax,” he remembers. 

As early as high school, Santiago began his interest in the genre of jazz.

“I was surrounded by music growing up and I noticed that the saxophone was a prominent instrument in jazz,” he says.  

“That spurred my interest in studying the horn and listening to as many recordings as I could get my hands on. My early influences include Jay Beckenstein, Erik Marienthal and Grover Washington, Jr.”

Jazz Shapes Santiago's Electronics Career

Entering college, Santiago continued playing the sax and was lead tenor for the Marquette University Jazz Ensemble, while fronting his own combo in the Milwaukee area named Jagged Jazz.

While not having a formal music degree—Santiago has his Master’s degree in electrical engineering and DSP—he did seek instruction in jazz by playing at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and received guidance from players such Berkeley Fudge, Mark Davis, James Williams and Eric Alexander.

According to Santiago, his playing experience ranges from rock and R&B bands, to big band to jazz combos, and occasional solo engagements. He says the venues he's played over the years range from clubs, halls, to contemporary church settings.

In the early 2000s, Santiago adds that he was called to record a few sax loops for a Sony loop library.

Prior to co-founding Indy Audio Labs, Santiago spent 17 years developing products for Shure in Chicago where he worked and played with other musician employees. It was at Shure that Santiago was able to interact with renowned artists of all backgrounds, including jazz legends Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter.

Related: CE Pro All-Star Band Member Profile—Camila Ballario, Leon Speakers

“I remember being called into one of our studios to play tenor sax with a new model sax mic we were developing. The marketing department wanted me to play for a visiting engineer so he could evaluate the sound of the new mic live,” says Santiago.  

“So I went to the booth and blew whatever came to mind. At that moment it was a few bars of the Sonny Rollins tune 'St. Thomas' and I noodled around the changes a bit. I should have asked who our guest was; it turns out that it was Sonny’s live engineer. Good thing I didn’t find that out until later.”

Looking ahead at the upcoming CEDIA Expo 2019 show, Santiago will debut with the CE Pro All-Star Band, and he says that playing with his peers will be fun.

“I’m excited to jam with some colleagues and friends of mine in our industry,” he states.

“I’ve had a business relationship with a number of these folks for several years and getting the chance to get to play together will be something we’ll talk about for years to come.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Archer
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Robert Archer:
Bob is an audio enthusiast who has written about consumer electronics for various publications within Massachusetts before joining the staff of CE Pro in 2000. Bob is THX Level I certified, and he's also taken classes from the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) and Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA). Bob has also served as the technology editor for CE Pro's sister publication Commercial Integrator. In his personal time beyond his family, he's studied guitar and music theory at Sarrin Music Studios in Wakefield, Mass., and he also studies Kyokushin karate at 5 Dragons and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Binda Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
View Robert Archer's complete profile

ARTICLE TOPICS

CEDIA Expo • Events • News

ARTICLE TAGS

CE Pro All Star Band • CEDIA • Indy Audio Labs

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