Ray (2004)

Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. Then there was his singing; his style was among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. He was also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. The brilliance of his 1950s and '60s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he made few classic tracks after the mid-'60s, though he recorded often and performed until the year before his death…

As a teenager, David Newman played professionally around Dallas and Fort Worth with Charlie Parker's mentor, Buster Smith, and also with Ornette Coleman in a band led by tenor saxophonist Red Connors. In the early '50s, Newman worked locally with such R&B musicians as Lowell Fulson and T-Bone Walker. In 1952, Newman formed his longest-lasting and most important musical association with Ray Charles, who had played piano in Fulson's group. Newman stayed with Charles' band from 1954-1964, while concurrently recording as a leader and a sideman with, among others, his hometown associate, tenor saxophonist James Clay.

The album was recorded as a tribute to the late great Ray Charles. 14 of the tracks are directly associated with him with the fifteenth track a song by Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness about the influence Ray Charles had on them and their careers in music. The lead vocals are by Paul Jones, Dave Kelly and Tom McGuinness and the feature of the album release is a large poster giving information about Ray Charles, The Blues Band and the 5 members of the Blues Band.

Ray Mantilla's Space Station is his regular group and works mostly in Europe. Although tied to the bebop tradition, Mantilla's soloists are actually much more modern, closer to post-bop than to hard bop. Because the septet works together often, they have developed their own fresh material which consists mostly of originals by Mantilla and pianist Eddy Martinez. The only standard on the date is a ballad version of "The Man I Love."

Although they might not admit it, fans of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan have been waiting for the next Stevie Ray to rise out of the blues-rock circuit, and while countless hotshot guitar slingers certainly have dressed the part, few if any of them have that same mixture of explosive skill and hard-earned soul. New England's Albert Cummings might just be the guy who can do it, though. Calling him the new Stevie Ray wouldn't be fair, certainly, but Cummings, a carpenter from Williamston, Massachusetts, has that same explosive, soulful and emotional tone that made Vaughan so special. He also is somewhat of an "aw, shucks" kind of guy, with very little show-biz about him, but when he picks up that Fender Stratocaster, sparks fly. True to Yourself is Cummings' debut with the Blind Pig label, and working with Double Trouble bassist Tommy Shannon is sure to draw parallels with Vaughan, but Cummings, although his guitar tone and attack are definitely similar, is a much more grounded songwriter, and there is somewhat of a domestic veneer to these tracks.

A genuine première and, over and above that, starring the biggest motion picture composer of the present day: Ennio Morricone. Morricone is well-known to moviegoers his soundtracks are invariably warmly melodic and superbly suited to the films they grace. The program contains a representative sample of his rich creative output and features a selection of his most famous film music including “Il Buono, il brutto e il cattivo” (“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”), “C’era una volta il West” (“Once Upon a Time in the West”, “Giu la testa” (“A Fistful of Dynamite”), “C’era una volta in America” (“Once Upon a Time in America”, “The Mission”, “Cinema Paradiso”, “The Life and Death of Richard III”, “Investigation Of A Citizen Under Suspicion”, “The Untouchables” and lots more. Including short film clips!