a tribute to #RayCharles

#TBT to our 3rd Gala back in August '05! The Gala was a tribute to #RayCharles (one year after… https://t.co/sX0WvCvsHw

— Jazz In Chicago (@jazzinstitute) September 29, 2016

Aretha Franklin & Ray Charles

Billy Osborn and Ray Charles in the Recording Studio

*International recording artist Billy Osborne’s irrepressible vocals, poetic lyrics, and evocative musicianship are a faint reflection of the remarkable gifts that characterize the Providence, Rhode Island, native son.

Billy spent the early part of his illustrious career enchanting music lovers as a key percussionist for some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time, including prolific guitarist Wes Montgomery and virtuoso saxophonist Archie Schepp.

As a 16-year-old drummer, Billy used his god-given talent to enrich the lives of aficionados the world over, traveling with some of the greatest musicians to ever roam the earth and performing at exotic locations. In1959, he was honored by Metronome magazine as the “best new drummer of the year,” although still in his teens.

Coming from a strong jazz pedigree, Billy was naturally hooked on jazz and is a perpetual student of its improvisation. To this day his musical IQ continues to spiral upward. But Billy’s creative acumen is not confined to composing or singing lucid jazz riffs.

As a producer, Billy’s unyielding passion for scores and arrangements launched him into the company of great music theorists, from whom he acquired a wealth of knowledge. Naturally, then, he expanded his horizons beyond jazz, which led to other music forms, including R&B and soul, the progeny of blues and jazz. With the changing winds of traditional jazz and the emergence of contemporary, smooth jazz and 70s R&B, Billy stayed true to his roots but expanded his commercial range when he assumed the role as musical director for the Los Angeles group, The Friends of Distinction.

Read more: http://www.eurweb.com/?p=315029

'Georgia on My Mind (Live)' by Ray Charles

It's a little baffling that when Ray Charlesoriginally released Live in Concert in early 1965, its brisk 38-minute duration meant shutting out "Georgia on My Mind." It was his first concert record since turning Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell's classic into a No. 1 hit, but what was already well on its way to becoming Charles' signature song was nowhere to be found until recently, when a expanded reissue restored it to the album's running order.

Counterintuitive though it may be, the song's absence might be explained by the breathtaking crawl through which Charles guides his band. The backing is so minimal that to call it "skeletal" doesn't do it justice; note how the audience can't even identify it until Charles begins singing. The drum is simply a one-two slap of brushes and the lightest of hi-hat claps. The bass thumps just enough to land on the first beat of each bar. Charles' organ sits low and quiet throughout, and beyond his vocal, practically the only sign of movement is a flute that trills lightly all over the place.

That sense of fragility, as though the faintest ripple could cause the whole song to tumble apart, is highlighted with the shift to the bridge just before the five-minute mark, where it sounds as though even the musicians aren't entirely sure whether the song is continuing. But still Charles pushes on, and it's only at the very end that his entire band comes in with a touch of Dixieland cacophony. It's one final flourish in a performance held together by little more than the strength of Charles' genius — which, after all these years, proves more than enough. Listen on: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/02/140143464/ray-charles-georgia-at-a-glacial-pace

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/02/140143464/ray-charles-georgia-at-a-glacial-pace?ft=3&f=4703895&sc=nl&cc=sod-20110902 

Ray Charles: A Lost Moment Of Rock 'n' Soul....

by Marc Silver

Nearly six years after his death, it's still a thrill to hear Ray Charles' distinctive and familiar voice singing "Isn't It Wonderful," an unfamiliar song posthumously pieced together from barebones vocal tracks. With new instrumentation, it appears on a compilation titled Rare Genius: The Unreleased Masters.

Recorded in the late 1980s, "Isn't It Wonderful" is built around a mid-tempo groove and a single-minded message summed up by one of several clichés here: "Let's not wait any longer." The compilation's producers kept their meddling to a minimum: They added an organ line that whistles and burbles playfully around the melody, a pungently twanging guitar and a strong, steady drumbeat. Call it classic Ray Charles rock 'n' soul.

No one would confuse "Isn't It Wonderful" with Charles' best moments, but his genius lies in the way his gritty voice can take a trifle of a tune and transform it into an intimate and enticing lover's plea, beautifully seasoned with blue notes, off-the-cuff testimony ("I'm trying to tell you something") and libidinous chuckles.
Hear at: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/31/133373668/ray-charles-a-lost-moment-of-rock-n-soul

From: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/31/133373668/ray-charles-a-lost-moment-of-rock-n-soul&sc=nl&cc=sod-20110131

Concord Records is celebrating the 80th birthday of the legendary Ray Charles

Music featured in this video:
Opening music "I'm Gonna Keep on Singin'"
:43 - 1:20 "Isn't It Wonderful"
1:21 - 1:38 "Love's Gonna Bite You Back"
1:44 - 2:18 "There'll Be Some Changes Made"
2:30 - 3:18 "Wheel of Fortune"
3:20 - 4:40 "Why Me Lord"
5:08 - End "Wheel of Fortune"

To purchase: http://www.tinyurl.com/raregenius

Concord Records is celebrating the 80th birthday of the legendary Ray Charles with a special gift for his legions of fans: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters. This treasure trove of newly discovered recordings, highlighted by a duet with fellow icon Johnny Cash, will become available on October 26th, 2010.

Culled from four decades worth of demos and other previously unreleased material, Rare Genius showcases the remarkable artistic vision, stylistic range and emotionally rich vocals that crafted Charles enduring legacy. Listening to the ten gems from the '70s, '80s and '90s that comprise this CD, fans will have no trouble envisioning the late singer rocking back and forth at the piano as he effortlessly segues between R&B/soul, pop, country and gospel. "Ray would always get inside the meaning of a lyric and make the listener believe every word," says Concord Music Group Chief Creative Officer, John Burk. "His vocals carried incredible emotion and intensity, even on demo tapes. What we have here with Rare Genius is on par with some of his greatest works."

And that's crystal clear right from the album's sparkling opener, "Love's Gonna Bite You Back." The March 1980 session track features an upbeat horn arrangement behind what Rare Genius liner notes author Bill Dahl calls "a Charles vocal that's a signature mixture of sandpaper grit and heavenly goodness." Up next is the stunning ballad "It Hurts to Be in Love," which underscores the album's main thematic focus and one of Charles' favorite subjects: the ups and down of romance.

Another compelling standout is the gospel-stirred Charles and Cash duet on Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me, Lord?" Discovered in the Sony vaults, the song was produced by Billy Sherrill in Nashville and recorded in 1981 for an anticipated release on a CBS album. For unknown reasons, that didn't come to pass. What's more important, however, is the emotional charge you get listening to these two powerful voices come together in this spirited and inspired pairing.

Except for "Lord," the nine other Rare Genius tracks including the soul-drenched "I Don't Want No One But You," a blues-infused cover of songwriter Hank Cochran's country classic "A Little Bitty Tear" and the joyous "I'm Gonna Keep on Singin'" were found in the vault at Charles' R.P.M. International Studios in Los Angeles.

Adding a little sweetening to some of the sparse, stripped-down tracks was a team of top-notch musicians and artists: guitarists Keb' Mo' and George Doering, organist Bobby Sparks, trumpeter Gray Grant, trombonist Alan Kaplan, bassists Trey Henry and Chuck Berghofer, drummers Gregg Field and Ray Brinker and background vocalist Eric Benet.

As with its Concord predecessor, 2004's Grammy-winning Album of the Year Genius Loves Company, Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters is another fitting tribute to Charles, who would have turned 80 on September 23, 2010. It's a fresh, vibrant reaffirmation of the music icon's unparalleled artistry and legacy.

Ray Charles

(born September 23, 1930, Albany, Georgia, U.S.—died June 10, 2004, Beverly Hills, California) American pianist, singer, composer, and bandleader, a leading black entertainer billed as “the Genius.” Charles was credited with the early development of soul music, a style based on a melding of gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz music.

When Charles was an infant his family moved to Greenville, Florida, and he began his musical career at age five on a piano in a neighbourhood café. He began to go blind at six, possibly from glaucoma, completely losing his sight by age seven. He attended the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, where he concentrated on musical studies, but left school at age 15 to play the piano professionally after his mother died from cancer (his father had died when the boy was 10).Charles built a remarkable career based on the immediacy of emotion in his performances.
After emerging as a blues and jazz pianist indebted to Nat King Cole's style in the late 1940s, Charles recorded the boogie-woogie classic “Mess Around” and the novelty song “It Should've Been Me” in 1952–53. His arrangement for Guitar Slim's “The Things That I Used to Do” became a blues million-seller in 1953. By 1954 Charles had created a successful combination of blues and gospel influences and signed on with Atlantic Records. Propelled by Charles's distinctive raspy voice, “I've Got a Woman” and “Hallelujah I Love You So” became hit records. “What'd I Say” led the rhythm and blues sales charts in 1959 and was Charles's own first million-seller.
Charles's rhythmic piano playing and band arranging revived the “funky” quality of jazz, but he also recorded in many other musical genres. He entered the pop market with the best-sellers “Georgia on My Mind” (1960) and “Hit the Road, Jack” (1961). His album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962) sold more than 1,000,000 copies, as did its single, “I Can't Stop Loving You.” Thereafter his music emphasized jazz standards and renditions of pop and show tunes.From 1955 Charles toured extensively in the United States and elsewhere with his own big band and a gospel-style female backup quartet called The Raeletts. He also appeared on television and worked in films such as Ballad in Blue (1964) and The Blues Brothers (1980) as a featured act and sound track composer. He formed his own custom recording labels, Tangerine in 1962 and Crossover Records in 1973.
The recipient of many national and international awards, he received 13 Grammy Awards, including a lifetime achievement award in 1987. In 1986 Charles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Kennedy Center Honor. He published an autobiography, Brother Ray, Ray Charles' Own Story (1978), written with David Ritz.
http://www.biography.com/articles/Ray-Charles-9245001

There Is Only One Ray Charles

Concord Records presents the Video Podcast series, "Ray Charles, Genius," produced and hosted by Bret Primack. In this debut episode, meet the panel of experts, who collaborated with Ray, presented him in concert, and admired his unique fusion of American music.