Sean Rickman is a native of Georgetown, Washington DC. He began playing drums at age one, guitar and bass at seven years old, wrote music and recorded multi-track demos as a teen.

The artists that impacted him throughout his early years were  Al Green, Parliament/Funkadelic and a lot of James Brown. Then along came Kiss, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers, Van Halen, Allan Holdsworth, Tony Williams, Yngwie Malmsteen, Prince, Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Dio, Black Sabbath, Mother’s Finest, Rush, John McLaughlin & Mahavishnu Orchestra, Greg Howe, Vinnie Colaiuta, Yes, Jaco Pastorius, Narada Michael Walden, Weather Report, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Pat Metheny, Sly and the Family Stone, The Isley Brothers, Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Chaka Khan & Rufus, and many more artists were amongst his private collection of music.

In 1990 Sean traveled to Los Angeles and landed a recording contract with independent label Third Stone Records along with a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. In 1991 he landed a production deal with Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN where he also met guitarist Shawn Lane.

Rickman has been working professionally as a drummer for a number of years since 1992 touring and recording with guitarist Shawn Lane, guitarist Phil Upchurch (his father), singer Angela Bofill, singer Maxwell, singer/bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, keyboardist George Duke, Dapp Theory, trumpeter Randy Brecker, Garaj Mahal, Tribute To Miles (featuring bassist Marcus Miller, pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and trumpeter Sean Jones), and bassist Matthew Garrison. Rickman has performed on drums and percussion with Steve Coleman from 1996 – 2002 and 2012 to present. 

In 2015, Rickman teamed up with guitarist Miles Okazaki forming the group Trickster. Both Steve Coleman and Miles Okazaki’s Trickster perform and record routinely internationally. 

Sean released his first solo album One (2012) under his artist name “The Rick”. The album features original material in which he sings all lead and background vocals, as well as performs guitar, bass and drums. He then followed up with Zoom (2016). His third solo release Archives (2021) features unreleased originals from earlier 8 track demos showcasing his intensity as an unknown guitarist. The latest release Oh So Very Much (2024) is where the songs were first written from the drums without music and arrangements. The Rick stated “Writing from the drums without music gives me unpredictability in which I create an unusual rhythmic song format, as opposed to traditional time keeping with most popular Western music.”

Discography

The Rick

  • One (Zone One, 2012)
  • Zoom (Zone One, 2016)
  • Archives (Zone One, 2021)
  • Oh So Very Much (Zone One, 2024)

As sideman

With Steve Coleman

  • Genesis & the Opening of the Way (BMG/RCA, 1998)
  • Sonic Language of Myth Believing, Learning, Knowing (BMG/RCA, 1999)
  • The Ascension to Light (BMG/RCA, 2000)
  • Alternate Dimension Series I (Label Bleu, 2002)
  • Resistance Is Futile (Label Bleu, 2002)
  • On the Rising of the 64 Paths (Label Bleu, 2003)
  • Functional Arrhythmias (Pi, 2013)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets) (Pi, 2018)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. 2 (MDW NTR) (Pi, 2021)

With Shawn Lane

  • Powers of Ten (Warner Bros., 1992)
  • Powers of Ten Live! (King, 2001)
  • The Tri-Tone Fascination (Eye Reckon, 2001)

With others

  • Angela Bofill, Love in Slow Motion (Shanachie, 1996)
  • Andy Milne, New Age of Aquarius (Contrology, 2000)
  • Kai Eckhardt, Honour Simplicity, Respect the Flow (Naim, 2000)
  • Anthony Tidd, Quite Sane/The Child of Troubled Times (Coolhunter, 2002)
  • Meshell Ndegeocello, Cookie the Anthropological Mixtape (Maverick, 2002)
  • Dapp Theory, Y’all Just Don’t Know (Concord, 2003)
  • Dapp Theory, Layers of Chance (Contrology/ObliqSound, 2008)
  • Garaj Mahal, More Mr. Nice Guy (Owl, 2010)
  • Miles Okazaki, Trickster (Pi, 2016)
  • Miles Okazaki, The Sky Below (Pi, 2019)
  • Miles Okazaki, Thisness (Pi, 2022)
  • Miles Okazaki, Live In Brooklyn (Cygnus, 2023)
  • Cautious Clay, Karpeh (Blue Note, 2023)

Video

  • 2002: Sean Rickman – Compositional Drumming DVD/CD Set
  • 1992: Shawn Lane – Power Licks (REH Video)
  • 1992: Shawn Lane – Power Solos (REH Video)