Ricardo comes from a musical family. His grandfather was a musician in the Dominican Republic, where Ricardo was born. His father, Francisco (Cano) was a composer/player with numerous Latin/Latin Jazz bands in New York, including the legendary Machito. His brother, Pablo, was lead singer and principal songwriter for the popular Salsa band, Conjunto Melao; later he led his own bands and wrote hits for stars like Willie Colón and Adalberto Santiago.

            Ricardo holds a music degree and a Master in Bilingual Education from the City College Of New York, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. At City he studied with noted composer/pianist John Lewis, founder of the immortal Modern Jazz Quartet. He has also studied with master composer/pianist/educator, Ran Blake, and Jazz guitar legend, Sal Salvador.  Other influences in his multicultural melting pot: The Blues of Robert Johnson, the Gospel Soul of Sam Cooke, the Pop mastery of the Beatles, the Latin/world music of Juan Luis Guerra, and a Jazz guitar obsession…

The resulting brew is a refreshing blend of Rock, Latin & Jazz that is beyond category.

            Appearances include: The Jazz Mobile, New York’s Town Hall, New England Conservatory of Music, The Bean Runner Café in Peekskill, The Arts Exchange in White Plains, and many others. His songs have won commendations from the Billboard magazine competition and have been published in Sing Out! Magazine.

Last summer Relix magazine chose Ricardo’s trio as a new artist Jam Off Grand Prize winner. His music is available on Bandcamp, CD Baby, ITunes, Watusi, etc.