Ray Blue's latest release Ray
Blue - Berries and Blues melds Ray's love of blues, jazz, and African
folk rhythms into a tight sound with soul and feeling. Ray has an uncanny
ability to capture everyday experiences and project them through his music.
Ray Blue - Berries
and Blues
Berries and Blues: Lift Every Voice and Sing; Baby... Just Tell Me; Berries for Breakfast;
There is No Greater Love; Stella by Starlight; Work; Strollin'; Here We Go;
Ubuntu; Amazing Grace
Personnel: Ray
Blue: Tenor and Soprano Saxophones; Tom McClung: Piano; Doug Sides: Drums;
Rasul Sadik: Trumpet; Eric Jacot: Bass; Joe Ham: Drum Kicks; John Basile:
Guitar
Ray Blue - Berries
and Blues was released on the Funky Records label and is the fifth solo
release from the hardworking saxophonist, Ray Blue. Ray uses the roots of blues
and jazz, along with African folk rhythms for the arrangements on the release Berries and Blues. Ray has traveled all
over the world and on Berries and Blues
he melds his influences as he "serves you with Berries and Blues, fruits of my
music." It is Ray's way of saying "good morning, good day and be well." To read
a review of Ray's prior release, please visit the Music Scene
section for Ray
Blue - Transvision.
Ray opens the release with a short intro of Lift Every Voice and Sing and segues
into Baby... Just Tell Me that speaks
of communications, trust, and respect, that rings throughout the track from
Ray's passionate saxophone work and his arrangement of the band's
accompaniment; it is a direct and straight forward blend of jazz and blues. The
track Berries for Breakfast reflects
Ray's feeling on staying healthy and caring for your friends and family, which
he conveys through soulful saxophone licks and an uplifting arrangement that
features exceptional bass work.
There is No Greater
Love is a ballad of love, passion, and feelings that is captured to
perfection by Ray and the band. Uplifting, sensual, and fiery, it contains all of
the elements of one's love for another. The iconic Stella by Starlight is a different love song, it communicates being
insightful to the feelings of the person you love while still having a bit of
playfulness in the relationship.
The track Work
reflects the day-to-day life we all lead and the self-respect that comes from
what we do; the track is inspirational and encourages us to take pride in our
accomplishments. Strollin' is what
Ray has done countless times as he has absorbed the beauty of traveling to
different parts of the world while strolling to get to know a city and its
people while having fun doing it; the song is free flowing and bouncy like you
feel when you explore a city and find something new and exciting.
Here We Go is
drawn from Ray's views of dreams coming true and treating yourself and others
with kindness; the track starts off with the tug of your heartstring conveyed
by the vibrant plucking of the bass guitar and the tinkling of the piano keys. The
song moves into a heated section played by the saxophone and culminates with an
all out jam by the band.
The release closes with the tracks Ubuntu, the understanding of how each of us affects the other and
how this moves the world, this meaning is depicted by the back-and-forth
between the piano and saxophone with soft brush strokes from the drums, and the
final track, which is a short closing segment from the song Amazing Grace.
Websites where you can procure Ray Blue - Berries and Blues are CD Baby, iTunes,
JPC,
and Amazon.
© December 2010. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All
rights reserved.
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