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Ray Vega: Boperation
by C. Michael Bailey
Viva La Musica. Pregnant with percussion, Boperation is a standards light beam passed through a Latin prism. The result is an infectious salsa slant on hallowed music ably directed by trumpeter Ray Vega. Vega chooses carefully songs composed by ostensibly his greatest influences if not those he recognizes for the necessary artists the are (were). His tone is at once Miles, Birks, and Clifford. Oh, how brilliant and what a start to hear, like a dream where you talk on ...
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by Douglas Payne
Before Boperation, trumpeter Ray Vega's second Concord Picante disc as a leader, I knew nothing about the man or his music. But my inattention or inappropriate disregard shifted dramatically within the first few notes of this disc. Even if you've known all along about Ray's previous self-titled disc - or his higher profile work with Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Joe Henderson's big band or the Bronx Horns - Boperation grabs your ears and holds on.Here, the 38-year-old South ...
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by Ed Kopp
On Boperation, trumpeter Ray Vega infuses 12 classic bop tunes with a Latin-jazz spin. All of these tunes were made famous by Vega's trumpet heroes, and his new renditions are terrifically rhythmic.Lead trumpeter in Tito Puente's band for the past six years, the 38-year-old Vega has also worked with Paul Simon, Mongo Santamaria, and Joe Henderson. This native of the South Bronx succinctly explains his musical vision in Concord's press material: “I came up in the tradition of ...
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by Jim Santella
Ray Vega’s Latin jazz tribute to bop trumpeters includes dedications to Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Henderson, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Woody Shaw, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, and Lee Morgan. True, he missed a few, but the tune selection – each played with a fresh twist – represents some of the best from these past 50 years. Vega plays forcefully, but without an edge. His articulation is rounded in such a way ...
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