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TWO TENOR SERENADE AT BASSLINE |
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A Sunday matinee concert on Aug. 17th -featuring the dual tenor saxophones of Patience Higgins and Ray Blue- was a fine example of how a grassroots promotional effort can successfully bring talented musicians before an appreciative jazz audience eager to support them. Produced by Very Truly Yours, the Westchester concert was the collective effort of longtime jazz fans Nat White and Arnie Perez. Entitled "Two Tenor Serenade", the performance was dedicated to the music and memory of saxophonist Johnny Griffin, who passed away at his home in France on July 25th. The convenient time of the date -3-6pm- was an added plus for those jazzers who worry about a late night of music causing them to miss their own gig the next morning! The location -The BassLine Club in Mt.Vernon- used an exceptional sound system and benefited from room acoustics that served the music well.
The rock-solid rhythm section featured brothers Zaccai and Luques Curtis on piano and bass, respectively, with Alvester Garnett on drums. They all showed an ability to drive the band, maintain a hard bop feel, and easily go wherever the flow of the music took them; evidence of lessons learned, wonderfully so.
Higgins (who has worked with both Stevie Wonder and Hamiet Bluiett) and Blue (Gary Bartz, Steve Turre) came out with guns blazing from the start on "The Way You Look Tonight", letting the audience know they meant business -the business of swing, that is! Higgins led off, staying close to the melody, demonstrating his command of the horn with a lyrical solo, with Garnett chattering away behind him at the drum kit. Ray Blue's tone was a contrast in style as he tended toward a gruffer, more 'out' approach- he's absorbed both Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis and David Murray.
Throughout the afternoon, Blue showed his ability to build a solo --using an outstanding technique to 'tell a story'. "Tin Tin Deo" featured a killer piano intro by Zaccai Curtis, showing his ease with the afro-cuban idiom. His blues-soaked fills (with a touch of Horace Silver added) remained his own special brew. The drumming of Alvester Garnett on this tune -and especially his lengthy solo on "Freedom Jazz Dance" which closed the first set -was nothing short of spectacular. Head tilted back, eyes shut, with a wide grin and a sporadic grunt, Garnett lost himself -but not the groove- in the classic Eddie Harris line. His solo conjured up the spirit of Eddie Blackwell as he swung in and out of tempo, skillfully using dynamics to bring the house down. Both tenors shone on "Well, You Needn't" and "Blue Monk", bringing the term 'locking horns' to life as they traded riffs over the steady bass line set down by Luques Curtis. Other highlights on an afternoon filled with them: Patience Higgins' lovely tone-with a tasteful use of multiphonics -on "In A Sentimental Mood", Ray Blue on "Blue Monk"-using slurred notes, 'popping' and overblowing skillfully, his playing referenced Johnny Griffin without slavishly imitating him. Blue, currently based in Berlin, spends most of the year in Europe. Stateside audiences deserve a chance to hear him more often! The afternoon ended with everyone jamming at length--an extended, yelping tenor madness-style climax on "Smokestack", a number from Griffin's 1957 "Blowing Session" date. At it's end, the smiling but exhausted musicians were thanked by a grateful audience, one eagerly looking forward to a promised series of further Sunday Serenades.
Charles Davis, 17.08.2008
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NEW LIFE A FINE FINALE AT JAZZ FEST |
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Ray Blue's Cross-Continental Spirit followed the vocalist's set with the most progressive music of the Greater Hartford festival, which also featured performances in Bushnell Park on Friday and Saturday.
Blue is a bold New York tenor player who spends much of his time in Berlin, Germany. Based on his powerful Hartford performance, he'd have a much higher profile in the U.S. if he were stateside more often. His probing, full-throated sound revealed an allegiance to John Coltrane's music, but Blue's style encompassed African, blues and funk flavors as well.
The quintet began with a simmering take on Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," perfectly suited to the early evening's gradually diminishing heat.
Blue's band also presented potent renditions of a couple more jazz classics, "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Freedom Jazz Dance."
Even so, the set's highlight was its centerpiece, a medley of Abdullah Ibrahim's "Tsakwe" and a Ray Blue original, "Transvision." This lengthy journey through world rhythms and creative improvisations never waned in its energy. Each player had an opportunity to solo: pianist Michael Cochrane, bassist Beldon Bullock, drummer Sipho Kunene and percussionist David Daoud Williams. Blue wielded his soprano sax during the latter part of the piece, offering a spirited soliloquy to the music gods.
Ray Blue concluded his set with a brief but moving version of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," accompanied in soulful fashion by Cochrane.
Chick Obuchowski - Courant.com, 22.07.2008
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"Transvision", Ray Blues neues Album, ist konsequent und steht wahrscheinlich so mittig im Jazz wie man nur sein kann. "Straight up real deal" sagt Musikerkollege Houston Person über Blue's fünf Stücke umfassende Transvision. Tief aber nie bedeutungsschwer, verspielt, aber nie verkopft, unterhaltsam, aber nie billig, so klingt das Set.
Michael Aren
Jazz Dimensions, 10.10.2007
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A TOP MUSICIAN WITH AN IMPRESSIVE SOLO CAREER |
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"One of his specialities is 'flutter tongue', another, the technique of circular breathing, which enables Blue to perform breathtaking, long sweeping phrases full of lyric and poetry".
Mittellanzeitung
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ALWAYS WITH A PURPOSE, CD REVIEW |
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"Ray Blue has an essential quality: he owns a big sound, in the tradition of Gene Ammons and Houston Person. A sympathetic album and a rarity for collectors".
Jazz Hot Magazine
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ALWAYS WITH A PURPOSE, CD REVIEW |
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"After listening to the nine pieces, which are performed by a quartet -apart from five of his own compositions on the CD presents convincing interpretations of Jazz standards such as Duke Ellington's 'In A Sentimental Mood'- you wonder why the tenor saxophonist waited so long (to release his first album). He has a unique sound on his instrument, which is played with a pure tenor quality, adding a special and -in a positive sense- old-fashioned touch to his all in all unpretencious Mainstream Jazz".
Jazzthing Magazine
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ALWAYS WITH A PURPOSE, CD REVIEW |
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"Relaxation is the theme and the feeling that one gets from this album, which presents wonderful After Hours Jazz in a classical quartet".
Tagespiegel
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HIS NAME IS HIS BUSINESS CARD |
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The "blue" which in Jazz usually stands for a melancholy mood, seems, if you listen to his music, to refer to the color of the clear sky. His playing is like a relaxed giant slalom in a deserted snow landscape. Ray Blue is being praised for his tone; in its depth he has the sonorous confidentiality of the baritone saxophone, in its height the gentle smoothness and sensitivity of the alto.
Berliner Morgenpost
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HIS SOUND IS PURE, FULL AND RICH... |
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.......... as a bonus Ray helps the audiences better understand and connect to the music. A Ray Blue concert is a seamless combination of education and entertainment. Mount Mercy College has had the opportunity to host a Ray Blue concert several times in recent years, and each time he plays here he leaves us wanting more.
Teel Salaun
Director, College Relations
Cultural Affairs Committee
Mount Mercy College
Concert Review
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HIS TRADEMARK IS A SOFT AND RELAXED QUALITY |
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While Blue's brand of self-expression is certainly free, his saxophone timbre is just like he is - natural, modest and skillfully controlled, _ his trademark is a soft and relaxed quality. _ Looking at Blue's very personalized style of performance, one can see clearly that he is very true to his purpose of connecting people with his music.
China Daily
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The highlight September performance in Paris was tenor saxophonist Ray Blue. This former member of Sun Ra's Arkestra and student of Ornette Coleman set the Caveau des Oubliettes on fire. Also a member of the Spirit of Life Ensemble, he played for a full and enthusiastic house. The aptly named Blue showed a warm penchant for the blues, with wild forays into some circular breathing. He offered great poetic impact on originals and displayed a thick and multifaceted tone. His music was fresh and captured the mind without straying away too long from the strongest groove.
Downbeat
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RAY BLUE - A MUSICAL TALENT |
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Elegantly Ray is alternating between traditional and modern, his music is warmly felt by everyone who experiences it, moreover he brings it to life with brilliant sound. His music is characterized by passion as well as precision.
Classis - The Swiss Music Magazine for Classical and Jazz
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"Smooth Jazz... a sensitive, very expressive music. One could say Ray is 'singing on the saxophone'... wonderful Jazz which gets under your skin".
Jazzdimensions
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SAXOPHONE SOUND FROM NEW YORK - SMOOTH JAZZ WITH RAY BLUE |
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"The New York musician who chose Berlin as his first stop in Europe plays with passion and a high level of technical expertise and brings to life a special era of Jazz".
Suddeutsche Zeitung
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STUFF'N SUCH - NEW YORK SAXOPHONIST RAY BLUE DISPLAYED HIS TALENT IN BERLIN |
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"With the brilliance of his sound the New York Saxophonist Ray Blue brings out new attractions to the standard tunes. A convincing performance".
Jazzportal meOme
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THE POETRY OF BREATHING TECHNIQUE: LYRICAL JAZZ WITH RAY BLUE |
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"His lyrical, relaxed phrases found their place in experimental formations such as the Sun Ra Arkestra as well as in classical Bebop or Cool Bands".
Tagesspiegel
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