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Airtight, Funky Grooves & Loose Interplay
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Gifted guitarist Jeff Ray puts every ounce of soulful funk he's soaked up over the years into The Walkup, a jazz fusion CD brimming with crowd pleasing guitar work, creative solo exchanges, and overall top-notch musicianship. Joined by stellar musicians such as Victor Wise (drums), Aaron Swinn (keys) and Darryl Hall (bass), Ray lays out his honed chops over six original tracks and two covers ("Everybody Loves The Sunshine" and "Hot Music"). He's comfortable with delivering his music in a variety of tones, from shimmering clean to rock-edged dirty, which keeps the aural satisfaction at a high level throughout the disc. Apparently, the Harlem environment is one key to this Ohio-born guitarist's fusion approach - one that will certainly be appreciated by any fan of well-developed music with plenty of surprises.
Born in 1970, Ray picked up the guitar at age 14. A few years later he had his mind blown by the likes of Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon and Kenny Burrell. Attending Ohio's Miami University on a football scholarship, he went on to earn a music degree from Ohio State. Then Ray found himself at Rutgers, seeking jazz wisdom at the graduate level with Kenny Barron and the late Ted Dunbar. He headed to Harlem, and would soon appear on The Onus' self-titled 1996 debut, as well as the 2000 follow-up, "Reoccurring Dream". This led to a connection with Hipnotic Records' Tony Haywood, who set in motion plans for the guitarist's own debut CD.
Ray sees himself taking his music to the jam band audience, hopefully playing festivals and larger venues and making people dance. He'll always, however, remain true to his Harlem experience.
Contact Information
Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
269 S Route 94
Warwick, NY 10990
United States
E-mail:
Jeff Ray
Web site:
www.jeffray.net
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Greasing The Soul Of Grungy Blues
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All instrumental, greasy-jazzy blues is what you'll find on Mayan Mud, the latest EP-length CD from the Bay-area trio LIttle Muddy. Centered around the melodic sting of guitarist Rich Goldstein's six-string, the band's tasteful, less-is-more approach works well, creating a virtual soundtrack befitting a Quentin Tarantino movie, a top-down drive through America's heartland, or a life-done-me-wrong-but-I'm-gettin'-by character study. As Goldstein himself says about the soundscape, "You might imagine you're in a dark wood immersed in that Ozarky spooky character." Sinuous slide and gnarling acoustic guitars lend even more flavor to the material; in short, if you like instrumental, roots-influenced music that literally transports you to a scenic setting, check out the Little Muddy offering Mayan Mud.
Creating instrumental roots-rock that is both driving and sublime, Little Muddy was formed in San Francisco in 1997. Little Muddy's first CD release in 1999, "Little Muddy", received national attention through Hear Music stores across the country. With a motion picture soundtrack to its credit in director Jason Rosette's edgy highway/streetside urban feature "BookWars", Little Muddy provides a striking highway feel from which the story is effectively and memorably launched. Using a blend of vintage acoustic and electric instrumentation, guitarist Rich Goldstein, multi-instrumentalist Scott Shaw, and percussionist Vince Littleton on have continued to create spare, emotionally-moving instrumental music on Little Muddy's second release Mayan Mud.
The band continues to seek promotional opportunities for their music. Recently, the song "Nitro Burnin' And Modified" off Mayan Mud has been picked up by Essential Music production library for possible film and TV placement.
Contact Information
Little Muddy
311 Lee St. #10
Oakland, CA 94610
United States
E-mail:
Little Muddy
Web site:
www.littlemuddy.com
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