Results for "Kevin Ray"

Kevin Ray

Kevin Ray came to music relatively late in life, entering The New School at 25, where he came under the wing of Reggie Workman, a relationship that continues to this day. Under Reggie’s tutelage, he developed an appreciation for the entire spectrum of what is called jazz, as well as an affinity for adventurous artists such as The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Henry Threadgill, The World Saxophone Quartet, Andrew Cyrille, and others. Unsure of himself after college, he managed a department at Forbes Publishing, and worked as a consultant at JPMorgan Chase. At the same time, he came into contact with one of his spiritual mentors, Andrew Hill

No Subject

Label: Brother Mister Productions
Released: 2023
Track listing: At The Very Least; I Like It Very Much; Somebody Just Go In, Please; Sometime Tomorrow; Decisions Have Already Been Made; Metal Sounds; Excuse My Absence; I Take That Back; To Be Honest; Word And Respect; See What You Think; No Subject.

East Axis: No Subject

by Karl Ackermann
June 22, 2023

Pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray, and drummer Gerald Cleaver return for No Subject, the sophomore release from the quartet East Axis. One point on the axis has changed with the journeyman, multi-reedist Scott Robinson replacing saxophonist Allen Lowe. Robinson is a veteran of many prestigious and diverse groups including the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Maria ...

Catching Up With Matthew Shipp

by Mark Corroto
June 11, 2023

As Matthew Shipp enters his sixth decade he has nothing left to prove to the jazz cognoscenti. He has for 40-plus years worked at crafting an instantly recognizable language at the piano. When he moved to Manhattan's Lower East Side in the '80s, he immersed himself in the same do-it -yourself culture that produced the post-punk ...

East Axis: No Subject

by Mike Jurkovic
February 28, 2023

As multi-reedist Scott Robinson, (Maria Schneider, Roscoe Mitchell) takes the horn chair from Allen Lowe, all is delivered and then some on No Subject, the second, reason-defying release from chameleonic improvisers pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Turning to shorter forms and themes than the three lengthy group-thinks which determined 2021's restless ...

East Axis, Sebastiano Dessanay, Christoph Irniger & Andrew Cyrille

by Maurice Hogue
February 27, 2023

This episode gets down to the bass-ics. I've loaded up this show with tracks that feature some terrific bassists, like Kevin Ray with East Axis and 10-32 K, Italy's Sebastiano Dessanay, Billy Mohler, Joel Grip with Ouat, John Edwards from England, Argentina's Maximiliano Kirszner, and of course, William Parker. There are more. Also on the bill, ...

East Axis

Matthew Shipp: A Dozen Essential Albums

by Karl Ackermann
September 13, 2022

While he was still in his fifties, some pundits were hailing Matthew Shipp as the “elder statesman" of avant-garde jazz piano. The sentiment, if not the Stonehenge-like title, was spot on. The jny: Wilmington, Delaware native grew up in jazz, with trumpeter Clifford Brown being a family friend. Shipp began studying piano at age 6 and ...

Cool With That

By East Axis

Label: ESP-Disk
Released: 2021
Track listing: A Side; Oh Hell I Forgot About That; Social Distance; I'm Cool with That; One.

Karl Ackermann's Best Creative Music of 2021

by Karl Ackermann
December 14, 2021

2020 was a disaster and 2021 was less than a beacon of hope. COVID-19 is in the rear-view mirror but closer than it appears. The political clown cars are over capacity, still running on fossil fuel and spilling occupants into the drinking water. That said, jazz and creative music flourished in ways that could make us ...