Having embarked upon one of instrumental music's most dynamic and multi-faceted careers, Richard Elliot's sound has played a huge part in pioneering the genre and radio format that has become today's contemporary urban jazz. Born in the Scottish Highlands and transplanted to Los Angeles at the age of three, he primarily grooved to R&B and was smitten with the Motown sound. As a teenager, he was taken by the tenor sax and found himself capable of expressing his own musical voice through it. His early career included touring with Natalie Cole and Yellowjackets, and recording sessions with Motown soul heavyweights like Smokey Robinson and The Temptations. While touring with Tower of Power, he released his solo album Trolltown, and the success of that album encouraged him to go solo.