Author: Charles, Ray

Brand: Concord Jazz

Features:

• Ray Sings, Basie Swings by Ray Charles (2009-08-03)

Format: Best of

Release Date: 03-10-2006

Details: Product Description The producers of this CD discovered archival reels of Ray Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra performing live on the same bill in 1973. Although the vocals were superior, the remaining elements were of extremely poor quality. They decided to bring the current Count Basie Orchestra into the studio and, using the latest technology, they carefully and painstakingly laid down a new musical backdrop for Charles' towering vocals. 'Ray Charles and Count Basie were two of the most charismatic personalities I've ever known. I loved them both. So to hear this amazing collaboration of their musical geniuses is a treat of the highest order. When 21st century technology and timeless soul come together, watch out! This one is for the ages'.-Quincy Jones Amazon.ca Ray Sings, Basie Swings proves not only that there's a market for Brother Ray's every last recorded utterance (and a breathless one at that), but that musical grafting can reap some seriously satisfying rewards. After Concord Records A&R chief John Burk mined his label's vaults in 2005 and came across tapes labeled "Ray/Basie," he made a move to re-record the songs, originally performed in the 1970s; the result is these 12 tracks, in which Charles's whiskey-weathered, old-soul vocals are laid over arrangements by the current Count Basie Orchestra. Charles fans couldn't ask for a classier pairing or more seamless studio wizardry: The classics, from "I Can't Stop Loving You" to "Busted" to "Georgia on My Mind," play as though orchestrated by the Genius himself- -tight, nuanced, and intimate-sounding. Less familiar tracks, like the down-home deep-South number "Every Saturday Night" and a couple of covers ("Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma" and "The Long and Winding Road") offer so much in the way of novelty it's tempting to forget that what's playing is mostly the result of modern experimentation. Deep as the disc runs--and no one who who hears the broken-hearted "Cryin' Time" will deny it runs deep--the most essential track on Ray Sings, Basie Swings may be its most lighthearted one: There is no hearing Ray Charles sing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning"--even if it's four in the afternoon, even if it's raining torrentially--without agreeing. --Tammy La Gorce

UPC: 792837685924

EAN: 0771104184827

Languages: English

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood