For Immediate Release January 19, 2014 Washington, DC -- Today HiPNOTIC Records President Tony Haywood made the following statement regarding the death yesterday of guitarist Jeff Ray: It is with terrible sadness that HiPNOTIC Records notes the untimely passing of a great musician and human being in guitarist John Jeffrey Jeff Ray. A graduate of Miami (Ohio) University who undertook formal jazz studies at Rutgers University, under the tutelage of Kenny Barron and the late Ted Dunbar, the Toledo native first appeared on two records by The Onus, whose second CD, Reoccurring Dream, was the labels first release and featured two compositions written by Jeff, including the title track. Jeff went on to release his first, and sadly what will be his only, full-length recording as a leader in 2003. Entitled The Walkup, the CD explored jazz, funk, rock and Caribbean themes on six original compositions by Jeff, in addition to Jeffs instrumental arrangements of Roy Ayerss Everybody Loves The Sunshine and the club anthem Hot Music. The name of the title track paid homage to the stretch of St. Nicholas Avenue between Jeffs Harlem apartment and St. Nicks Pub that Jeff and his musical compatriots traversed regularly to listen, sit in, and play gigs in the early 2000s. Jeff was joined on the recording by Aaron Swinnerton on Fender Rhodes and Hammond organ, Darryl Hall on electric bass, and Victor Wise on drums and percussion. The hybrid music on The Walkup was well received. David Adler observed, in the album’s liner notes, “The grooves are airtight, but the improvisation and interplay are loose, rippling with creative push and pull. Ray’s instrument speaks with both glassy clarity and rock-n-roll bite, revealing traces of Larry Carlton and Stevie Ray [Vaughn], [John] Scofield and [Jimi] Hendrix, and yes, even a bit of Dexter [Gordon] and Kenny Burrell.” After stints in Las Vegas with a band that would become the house band at a major hotel on the Strip, Jeff permanently relocated from Harlem and made a name for himself in Las Vegas as a guitarist playing in many shows including Jersey Boys and Vegas! the Show; as a member of cover bands including Miami Seven at the Tropicana Hotel and, most recently, The Jone$; and as a member of the hip hop / soul band Penthouse Suite. Jeff continued to play jazz and funk gigs with numerous other artists while also working on his own compositions. A long-awaited follow up to The Walkup seemed inevitable. Jeff will be remembered as a brilliant guitarist, capable of playing any number of styles not just convincingly but movingly, a composer with a knack for combining jazz and other concepts to organic and soulful effect, and as a bright, sensitive, and soulful human being who appreciated beauty in all of its manifestations and who derived great joy from the artistic accomplishments of others, including all of his label mates on HiPNOTIC. Jeff will be greatly missed by the HiPNOTIC family and we convey our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. ##
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 01:21:00 +0000