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Ray Charles
"In music you just can't escape when something is beautiful," Ray Charles recently said.
Added the legendary singer/pianist/composer, "Like a good song, you can't get away from a good song. You have a good song, and it will still be beautiful, even when somebody with a bad voice sings it. I love the old writers, who wrote beautiful love songs. I came up on those kinds of songs. But I have just as much love for blues and jazz too.
"It's like Duke Ellington said; there are only two kinds of music - good and bad. And you can tell when something is good."
That observation can apply to anything in Charles' extensive catalog.
From country to blues to jazz to R&B and even funk, the 73- year old Charles has set the aesthetic standard for more than five decades, earning plaudits across the globe and setting standards that his legion of fans, in and out of the entertainment industry, aspire to.
More often than not he wasn't called by his name - or even his longtime nickname "Brother Ray"---his is simply "The Genius."
His career has borne that title out.
Few artists can claim to have had such a wide ranging impact on the music we love, and even fewer have altered the course of so many musical streams - from his soul-jazz combos to his crucial R&B bands, to his landmark country music recordings, "Modern Sounds in Country Music."
Only modesty kept him from saying the obvious - that his name sits at the top of the soul singers list.
Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930 (he shares a birthday with another musical icon, John Coltrane).
Charles was not born blind - he lost his sight to undiagnosed glaucoma at age seven.
He enrolled in the St. Augustine (Fla) School for the deaf and blind, where he developed his enormous musical gift. After his mother's death, he set out as a solo act, modeling himself after Nat "King" Cole.
Soon he found himself in Seattle, Washington, where he met a young Quincy Jones, and established a name for himself in clubs.
It was then that he dropped the "Robinson" from his name to avoid confusion with the legendary boxer.
Starting his recording career in the late 1940's, Charles soon began experimenting, mixing genres. He began establishing a name for himself in clubs around the northwest, evolving his own music and singing style, which later included the famous back up singers, "The Raelettes."
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Ray Charles Orchestra: Ray Charles Orchestra: Zurich 1961-Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 41
![Read "Ray Charles Orchestra: Zurich 1961-Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 41" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/raycharlesorchestra_zurich1961_db.jpg)
by Chris M. Slawecki
We generally take it for granted now, but Ray Charles' trademark blend of jazz, gospel, R&B and soul in a large ensemble or orchestral setting was a unique sound mastered by few artists when this 1961 set was recorded. Number 41 in the Montreux Jazz Label's Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Zurich 1961 is a historical and musical treasure which might have been better recorded but could not have been better performed. Zurich 1961 reaches crackling, up-tempo jazz ...
read moreRay Charles Orchestra: Ray Charles Orchestra: Zurich 1961-Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 41
![Read "Ray Charles Orchestra: Zurich 1961-Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 41" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/raycharlesorchestra_zurich1961_db.jpg)
by Dan Bilawsky
1961 was a classic jazz vintage for Ray Charles. That was the year he delivered unto us Genius + Soul = Jazz (Impulse!, 1961), and the year he took Europe by storm with a big band in tow. He was in good voice and spirits, he had top quality charts in his book--a good number from the pen of Quincy Jones--and he had a talent-filled band that included trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, trombonist Dicky Wells, alto saxophonist Hank Crawford, and tenor ...
read moreRay Charles: The Atlantic Years in Mono
![Read "Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years in Mono" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/Ray-Charles-The-Atlantic-Years-in-Mono.jpg)
by C. Andrew Hovan
Hot on the heels of their highly-touted vinyl project featuring the Atlantic sides of John Coltrane in mono, Rhino hits the vaults again for a comparable set that mines the work of Ray Charles in some of his earliest recorded works. A similar thread runs through both projects. A heavyweight box serves as a fashionable slipcover for the albums, which themselves sport glossy front covers. Mastering was done by John Webber and the albums were pressed in Germany, presumably at ...
read moreRay Charles: Genius Love Company – 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
![Read "Ray Charles: Genius Love Company – 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/raycharles_geniuslovescompany10th_cmb.jpg)
by C. Michael Bailey
"The way these days just rip along, too fast to last, too vast, too strong..." --Jackson Browne The final recording of Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company, enjoys its tenth anniversary. It is striking to consider that it has been over ten years since the death of Ray Charles, one of the most imposing figures in American music. The music made in the second half of the twentieth century has had a remarkable staying power owing partially to ...
read moreRay Charles: The Complete ABC Recordings 1959-1961
![Read "Ray Charles: The Complete ABC Recordings 1959-1961" reviewed by Chris May](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/raycharles_thecompleteabcrecordings_cm.jpg)
by Chris May
Ray CharlesThe Complete ABC Recordings 1959-1961Le Chant du Monde2012At first glance, it's a mystery. Why choose 1961 as the cut-off point for a collection spanning the first years of singer/keyboardist Ray Charles' lengthy tenure with ABC-Paramount? Extend that to 1962, and even within the 3-CD confines of The Complete ABC Recordings 1959-1961 it would be possible to include the momentous Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. This was the album that ...
read moreRay Charles: Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles
![Read "Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/2010/raycharles_singulargeniusthecompleteabcsingles_cmb.jpg)
by C. Michael Bailey
Handsomely appointed, Concord's Singular Genius--The Complete ABC Singles offers an example of intelligent and succinct programming and assembly in the waning days of the compact disc. This individual items collection were produced during the heyday of the 45 RPM single, which is to say during the time of alphanumeric telephone exchanges. It represents all of Charles' ABC single releases between 1960 ("My Baby, I Love Her Yes I Do") and 1973 ("Ring of Fire"). What exists in between is nothing ...
read moreRay Charles: Rare Genius
![Read "Ray Charles: Rare Genius" reviewed by Chris May](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/2010/raycharles_raregenius_cmb.jpg)
by Chris May
Concord's reissue of vocalist and keyboardist Ray Charles' albums for ABC-Paramount, the label he moved to from Atlantic in 1959, is a mixed bag. It includes two winners, The Genius Hits The Road (1960) and Modern Sounds In Country Music Vols. 1 & 2 (1962), a so-so concept album, A Message From The People (1973)--and, in Live In Concert (1965), a stone masterpiece, Charles' all-round best live album. This edition is made essential listening by the inclusion of six previously ...
read moreJack Sheldon: Ray Charles Profile
![Jack Sheldon: Ray Charles Profile](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/6a00e008dca1f0883401b8d237ef8c970c-500wi.jpg)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In May 1961, Jack Sheldon recorded what today is one of his rarest and most interesting albums—A Jazz Profile of Ray Charles (Reprise). Over two days, the West Coast trumpeter recorded with a trio—Marty Paich (p, org), Joe Mondragon (b) and John Markham (d). The album came out in July, with Charles writing the back-jacket notes. The songs on the album are Am I Blue?, Georgia on My Mind, When Your Lover Has Gone, Cherry, Come Rain or Come Shine, ...
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Ray Charles And Ella Fitzgerald To Headline "The Jazz Fest Show" Photo Exhibit By Steven Forster In New Orleans
![Ray Charles And Ella Fitzgerald To Headline "The Jazz Fest Show" Photo Exhibit By Steven Forster In New Orleans](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/media/medium/0/f/a/e7447c7e114c18cfc1cca294540ae.jpg)
Source:
Steven Forster
Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald to Headline The Jazz Fest Show" Photo Exhibit by Steven Forster Steven Forster, award-winning jny: New Orleans photographer The Jazz Fest Show photo exhibit: 15 archival black and white photos of iconic jazz musicians Angela King Gallery 241 Royal St. New Orleans Opens April 24, 2014, 5-7 p.m. Continues through May 14, 2014. Celebrating the arrival of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Angela King Gallery will present “The ...
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From The Magical Days With Ray Charles, To The Unfolding Of Gentle Music For Healing – Enchanting Collaborations By David Hoffman And Paul Adams
![From The Magical Days With Ray Charles, To The Unfolding Of Gentle Music For Healing – Enchanting Collaborations By David Hoffman And Paul Adams](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/ant-bee_400x400.jpg)
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Asheville, NC: David Hoffman spent 13 years touring the world as Ray Charles trumpet soloist and arranger. From his dizzying experiences performing for the most prestigious a audiences in the world, he has toned the music down a bit for those looking for a place of peace. Paul Adams has made a career building instruments for some very well known musicians, he's composed 7 critically acclaimed albums, he's a writer and poet, and plays a vast array of exotic instruments. ...
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North Carolina Symphony Celebrates The Music Of Ray Charles, Sept. 28-29
Source:
Arthur Ryel-Lindsey
RALEIGH, NC: The North Carolina Symphony honors an American original with its season-opening Pops Series concert, “The Music of Ray Charles,” at downtown Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28-29, 8:00 p.m. Charles’s protégé, friend and fellow Georgia native Ellis Hall joins the orchestra and Symphony Resident Conductor William Henry Curry for an evening of R&B and soul classics. Hall, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger and producer, was appointed by Ray Charles as his R&B heir apparent. He has ...
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Jazz Arts Group Presents "Hit the Road, Jack: The Music of Ray Charles" Featuring Sarah Morrow & Roger Hines
![Jazz Arts Group Presents "Hit the Road, Jack: The Music of Ray Charles" Featuring Sarah Morrow & Roger Hines](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/media/large/0/0/5/8b219d2e2b470a24915dfc5fea6fb.jpg)
Source:
Michael Ricci
Columbus, OH The Jazz Arts Group's Inside Track series returns to the Lincoln Theatre with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra's Hit the Road, Jack: The Music of Ray Charles," January 27-28, 2012 featuring Ray Charles alumni Sarah Morrow and Roger Hines as they pay tribute to The Genius of Soul." With perfect pitch and an expressive voice, he combined worlds as diverse as jazz, country, rhythm and blues, and gospel to break your heart or make you dance. To this day, ...
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Ray Charles - Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles (2011)
![Ray Charles - Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles (2011)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/ray_charles.jpg)
Source:
Something Else!
Ray Charles, sightless and orphaned by age 15, led a life that sounded like a blues song. But the range and scope of his talent could never be contained within one genre, no matter its lasting joys. A gifted performer on the piano, organ, clarinet and alto sax, Charles dabbled at first in Nat Cole-esque trio-jazz, then earned wide accolades while at Atlantic for blending in R&B and gospel influencesperhaps most memorably on his salacious rewrite of This Little Girl ...
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Ray Charles - Live in France 1961 DVD (2011)
![Ray Charles - Live in France 1961 DVD (2011)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/ray_charles.jpg)
Source:
Something Else!
Ray Charles, by this point, had left Atlantic for ABC-Paramount and was well on his way to becoming one of the 20th century's most important crossover artistsdabbling in everything from country to big band to adult contemporary music. Make no mistake, though, Charles was still a musician of staggering talent in the straight-ahead jazz idiomas lovingly underscored in these never-before-seen DVD performances from Eagle Vision filmed at the Antibes Jazz Festival in July of 1961. Charles, appearing on a bill ...
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Ray Charles' "Singular Genius" Compiles 106 Hits and B-Sides
![Ray Charles' "Singular Genius" Compiles 106 Hits and B-Sides](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/ray_charles.jpg)
Source:
conqueroo
106 recordings on five compact discs totaling 53 singles are housed in handsome linen- textured collectors' box LOS ANGELES, CA: With the release of Ray Charles' Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles, on November 15, 2011, Concord Records will make available for the first time the artist's collection of ABC-Paramount singles during this prolific period (1960-1972). The digitally remastered deluxe 106-song collection presents the A and B sides of 53 singles, including 11 #1 hits, such Grammy Award winners Hit ...
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"Ray Charles Live in Concert" Captures the Genius at the Height of His Crossover Powers in 1964
!["Ray Charles Live in Concert" Captures the Genius at the Height of His Crossover Powers in 1964](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/ray_charles.jpg)
Source:
conqueroo
First CD release of the acclaimed live concert recording In the half-century between his earliest recordings in the 1950s and his death in 2004, Ray Charles ascended to icon status by leaving his mark on virtually every form of American popular music that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century. Nowhere was this more evident than in his live performances, where one was likely to hear shades of blues, soul, R&B, jazz, gospel, country, and more in a ...
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Deep Cuts: Ray Charles, "Am I Blue" (1959)
![Deep Cuts: Ray Charles, "Am I Blue" (1959)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/ray_charles.jpg)
Source:
Something Else!
By Nick DeRiso Am I Blue" is a largely forgotten argument for Ray Charles' striking ability to synthesize jazz, blues, country and gospel into music with a broader appeal. That's saying something, considering that it appears on The Genius of Ray Charles, a half-big band/half-strings Atlantic release that became one of his most celebrated efforts. Charles effortlessly melds both the secular and sacred singing styles, all the while injecting sharp flourishes of jazz. But Am I Blue" is often overlooked ...
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