Born and raised in the state of Iowa, Dick Oatts was brought up in a musical family. He was introduced to the saxophone by his father, Jack Oatts, a respected jazz educator and saxophonist. After high school, Dick attended Drake University and in 1972 he began his professional career in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Shortly after moving to NYC in 1977, he joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Since then, he has toured, recorded, and performed as a sideman in small groups with Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano, Dom Salvador, Vic Juris, Terell Stafford, Ray Mantilla, Jon Faddis, Fred Hersch and several others. Dick has recorded ten solo albums and five co-led albums.
For the past 35 years, Dick has appeared at college jazz festivals as a soloist and clinician throughout the United States and world. He also is a professor at the Boyer School of Music and Dance at Temple University and has been an “Artist in Residence” at the Amsterdam Conservatory since 1998.