Rich is a singer and musician with a special love of jazz, musical theatre, cowboy songs, and tango. Most recently, he formed the duo "Tango Cowboys" with guitarist Tom Bourne specializing in vocal tangos from Argentina written in the 30s and 40s. Rich was inspired to take up music by his Father Bill who sang songs from musicals and played guitar, performing songs like "Try To Remember" from The Fantasticks. He took up the violin at age 8, switched to the double bass at 11, and began studying the piano at 13. At 15 he played bass for a college vocal jazz group, which included his brother Mike, and toured California. In college, Rich studied with jazz guitarist Al Galante, and led a jazz quintet. In the late 1980s, while in Clemson S.C., he played bass with "Jazz Essence," a trio that included Dick Underwood on piano, and played bebop.
In March 2014, he released an album of songs he wrote over the last 35 odd years, with a few standards thrown into the mix. He has had the privilege of recording with several Northwest jazz stalwarts. The album was released at two concerts: one in Seattle, WA and one in his hometown of Longview, WA.