Ray Charles and Count Basie 'Ray Sings Basie Swings' album

Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music, the two Companies that co-released Genius Loves Company, announced today that they will partner again to co-release and co-market Ray Sings, Basie Swings, which marries archival, never-before-released Ray Charles recordings with brand-new performances by the Count Basie Orchestra. A painstaking labor of love that combines cutting-edge technology and musical ingenuity, Ray Sings, Basie Swings due out October 3rd, 2006 at Starbucks Company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada and at traditional music retail, showcases the late artist at his dazzling peak. Although Ray Charles and Count Basie shared the same bill during their careers, Ray Sings, Basie Swings marks the first and only recordings in which the “Genius” is backed by the legendary bandleader’s orchestra.

John Burk, Concord Records’ A&R chief and producer of Ray Charles’ 2004 multiple GRAMMY® Award-winning blockbuster album Genius Loves Company, came upon the lost tapes simply marked “Ray / Basie,” in late 2005 while surveying the label’s vaults in Berkeley, CA. While documentation about the original recordings is scarce, the archival reels that served as source material for Ray Sings, Basie Swings were apparently concert tapes made in the 1970s by legendary impresario-producer Norman Granz.

“The quality of these reels wasn’t great,” Burk recalls. “They appeared to be recordings from the live soundboard with Ray’s vocal way up front, and the band way in the background. At first, the tapes seemed unusable, but Ray sounded amazing.” Further investigation found that Charles was in fact performing with his own band and that the Basie Orchestra played earlier in the set. “I was disappointed that Ray wasn’t performing with the Basie band. But, then I thought that we could re-record the music with the current Basie Orchestra.”

Ray Sings, Basie Swings gives listeners the unprecedented experience of hearing Ray Charles at the height of his powers with the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. “The end result is a beautiful, authentic and irreplaceable piece of music,” muses Burk. “These tapes were just waiting for technology to catch up so we can help Ray do what he always did so naturally–make magic happen.”

Joe Adams, Charles’ longtime manager, describes the discovery of the lost tapes as “extraordinary,” adding, “Ray had such tremendous respect for Basie and often expressed a desire to work with him on a recording project. Now through the miracles of technology, we are able to fulfill one of Ray’s unfulfilled dreams. His vocal performance here is one of the best I have ever heard.” Indeed, Ray Sings, Basie Swings features superb renderings of such classics as “Georgia on My Mind,” “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Busted,” “How Long Has This Been Going On?,” “Let the Good Times Roll,” “Crying Time,” “Feel So Bad,” “Look What They’ve Done to My Song,” “The Long and Winding Road,” the set opener “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning,” and “Every Saturday Night” a long-time concert favorite never- before-released on record.

Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music first collaborated in 2004 when the two Companies co-released and co-marketed Ray Charles’ last recording, Genius Loves Company. The ground-breaking partnership helped to establish Starbucks as a major player in the music industry when the multi-platinum-selling CD won a record-tying eight GRAMMY® Awards, including Album and Record of the Year. To date, Genius Loves Company has sold nearly 6 million copies worldwide, with Starbucks representing 25 percent of overall sales in the U.S.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with Ray Charles’ estate and Concord Records yet again to make these extraordinary, archival Ray Charles recordings available to the world for the first time,” said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. “Our customers have demonstrated their passion for Ray Charles’ music and this project offered an exciting opportunity to leverage state-of-the-art technology to realize John Burk and Gregg Field’s musical vision.” Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group added, “We are so thrilled to once again team up with Starbucks Hear Music and the genius of Ray Charles for this very special follow-up record to Genius Loves Company. The historical significance of discovering Ray’s tapes and the brilliance of the Basie orchestra makes Ray Sings, Basie Swings a particularly exciting and meaningful recording to all of us.”

To undertake the intricate and laborious task of re-working the Ray / Basie tapes, Burk solicited the help of multi-talented musician, producer and engineer Gregg Field, who toured and recorded with both Charles (as drummer and arranger) and with Basie’s band, including on the GRAMMY® Award-winning “A Warm Breeze.” In addition to his intimate familiarity with the music, Field is also renowned for his studio wizardry; virtually all of his skills and experience were instrumental in bringing Ray Sings, Basie Swings to fruition. “Gregg worked with both Ray and Basie. He lived the music and he’s brilliant in the studio, which made him perfect for this project,” notes Burk, who, like Joe Adams, believes Charles’ vocals often surpass his finest renditions.

Field and Burk brought the current Basie orchestra – under the direction of Bill Hughes – into the studio to recreate the instrumental backdrop for Charles’ towering vocals. “Our goal was to create a recording that would retain Basie’s stylistic sound while utilizing Ray’s original music, expanded wherever possible to feature the Count Basie band,” Field explains.

A coterie of musical luminaries lent their abilities to Ray Sings, Basie Swings including multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning singer Patti Austin, who arranged and sang with the new Raelettes to provide critical vocal counterpoint. Jazz pianists Shelly Berg and Jim Cox, Tom Scott and notable B-3 organist Joey DeFrancesco also added their distinctive touch either as arrangers or players on the new recording.

Field, Burk and the other players and technicians walked a tightrope, striving to build an instrumental structure around Charles’ vocals that matched the faded original band but was also sufficiently vibrant and nuanced to avoid sounding forced. “We worked so hard to retain the artistic integrity of each artist,” Field relates, “and the result is an amazing combination of the Ray vocal style and the Basie sound. I can’t tell you how many times we’d turn the vocal down in the studio to work on the track, and when we brought Ray back into the mix, the hair on the back of your neck would stand up.”

Once the orchestra tracks were recorded to their satisfaction, “it was a lesson in Pro Tools editing,” adds Burk, referring to the ubiquitous recording and mixing application. It took four months, but the diligent effort proved highly rewarding. “It was a fusion of cutting-edge technology and the enormous depth of these great artists,” he asserts.

“More and more, we saw how emotionally compelling Ray’s vocal tracks were,” Burk marvels. “As the mixes came into focus, we began to recognize that these were clearly some of his best performances. Ray’s brilliant, one-of-a-kind rhythmic phrasing is a perfect complement to the Basie sound.”

Ray Charles
In 2004, Concord Records/Starbucks Hear Music released Ray’s last Album, Genius Loves Company, which took home a stunning eight Awards at the Grammy’s, including Best Album of the Year and Best Record of the Year (“Here We Go Again” with Norah Jones). Genius Loves Company is the best selling recording of Charles’ 50-year plus career. During his lifetime, Charles received 12 GRAMMY® Awards, all of which have been restored.

He received Lifetime Achievement and the President's Merit Award; he is one of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and he is a recipient of the Presidential Medal for the Arts, France's Legion of Honor and the Kennedy Center Honors. He also received the NAACP Image Awards’ “Hall of Fame Award” on March 6. Ray has been inducted into numerous other music Halls of Fame, including those for Jazz and Rhythm and Blues, a testament to his enormous influence.

During a career that has spanned some 58 years, Charles starred on over 250 albums, many of them top sellers in a variety of musical genres and he performed in a total of more than 10,000 concerts.

Charles appeared in movies, such as “The Blues Brothers,” and starred in commercials for Pepsi and California Raisins, among numerous others. In 2004, the bio-pic Ray was released for the world to see the historic life and times of the “Genius.” The movie garnered 6 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and Jamie Foxx took home the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Ray. Charles’ last public performance was on July 20, 2003, in Alexandria, VA.

Charles once told an interviewer from USA Today, “Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It’s part of me.”

Count Basie
William “Count” Basie has had such an extensive influence on jazz music, it can be heard in virtually every big jazz band to date. Basie was first noticed on the scene when he joined Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Band. They were developing a new sound in big band jazz; a more simple style than that of Fletcher Henderson or Duke Ellington, which ustlized short phrases called “riffs” exchanged back and forth between sections. This Call and response method of playing left plenty of room for soloists to be highlighted and many different disciplines of jazz and blues to find a place in the big band sound. Count Basie’s piano style fit this incorporation perfectly.

Basie first learned to play piano with his mother in his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey. His early influences-Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller- helped shape Basie’s minimal style. He joined the vaudeville circuit in New York, playing the thumping stride style accompanying the show, and in 1927, Count Basie was hired to play piano accompaniment to silent movies. Thereafter, he joined Walter Page’s Blue Devils and from there along with several other members joined Bernie Moten’s Kansas City Band.

When Bennie Moten dies in 1935, Basie formed “Barons of Rhythm-” his 9 piece group that included tenor saxophonist Lester Young and drummer Jo Jones. Through live broadcasts from the Reno Club, they attracted quite a bit of attention. Their style was characterized by a powerful swing, intensified by Basie’s frequent playing with the rhythm section alone, giving the band a unique sound and identity. Basie’s stature in the community was raised onto an even keel with Duke Ellington, earning him the nickname “Count”. Though their early labors were rough, their energy and enthusiasm attracted audiences in flocks. Initially, his band didn’t cause much stir when booked for a run at Chicago’s Grand Terrace, but the band took off when it expanded to 15 members before his next engagement at New York’s Famous Door on 52nd Street.

Throughout his career, Basie played in an orchestra that included saxophonists Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Frank Foster, trumpeters Joe Newman and Thad Jones and the powerful, rugged blues singer Joe Williams. This group played backup to many legendary performers such as Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Bing Crosby and Sammy Davis Jr. With the exception of a brief period in the early '50s, Basie led a big band from 1935 until his death almost 50 years later, and the band continues to perform worldwide after his death. Bill Hughes is the present leader of the Count Basie Orchestra. The current line-up is as follows: Rhythm Section: Butch Miles: drums Tony Suggs: piano James Leary: bass Will Matthews: guitar; Saxophones: Marshall McDonald: alto- flute, Grant Langford: alto, Doug Lawrence: tenor, Doug Miller: tenor, John Williams: baritone; Trumpets: Michael P. Williams, Scotty Barnhart, Shawn C. Edmonds, Endré Rice; Trombones: Dave Keim, Alvin S. Walker, Clarence Banks, Barry K. Cooper, Jr.: bass trombone.

John Burk
John Burk is the Chief Creative Officer of the Concord Music Group and Executive Vice President of A&R for Concord Records. John was recruited and mentored by Concord’s founder, Carl Jefferson, in 1989 and chosen by Jefferson to be his creative successor. In this capacity he is primarily responsible for all new recordings and artist development for the Concord labels.

An accomplished producer, John has personally produced well in excess of 100 Concord recordings by such prestigious artists as Ray Charles, Norah Jones, Gladys Knight, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Rosemary Clooney, Mel Tormé, Joey DeFrancesco, Nnenna Freelon, Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, and many more. John’s productions have earned 19 Grammy Award nominations and 12 Grammy Awards, including 2005’s Record of the Year and Album of the Year for the Ray Charles album “Genius Loves Company”.

Previously, John was a freelance record producer and professional musician. He holds a B.A. in Music Composition, from California State University East Bay and studied record engineering at Los Medanos College of Recording Arts.

John is an Executive Producer and Co-Producer on “Ray Sings, Basie Swing,” which will be released on October 3, 2006.

Gregg Field
Concord Records Recording Artist Gregg Field is one of the most versatile and highly sought-after drummers, producers and educators in music today and has been voted into Modern Drummer magazine’s reader's poll five times. World class musicians and singers alike, a veritable who’s who of the music world, including Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, John Williams, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Barry Manilow, Dave Koz, Kevin Spacey, Phil Ramone, Liza Minnelli, Stevie Wonder, P. Diddy, Brian Wilson, Rosemary Clooney, Vince Gill, Dianne Schuur, Mel Torme’, Amy Grant, Adam Sandler, Johnny Mathis, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Grover Washington Jr., Dave Koz and Patti Austin are among his musical collaborators.

At 24, Gregg toured with Count Basie from 1980 through 1982, Ella Fitzgerald from 1985 through 1986 and Frank Sinatra from 1991 through 1995. He can be heard on Sinatra’s historic, multi-platinum Duets and Duets II recordings. Gregg has performed with numerous symphonies worldwide including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Vancouver, Seattle and the National Symphony in Washington D.C.

Gregg has appeared on twenty Grammy-nominated recordings, three of which have been awarded the coveted Grammy. Among Gregg’s recent recordings are: George Benson / Al Jarreau’s Givin’ It Up (October 2006), Dave Koz’s “At the Movies” (Jan. 2007), Natalie Cole & Various Artists-Ella Fitzgerald Tribute (2007), Russell Watson (2007), Barbra Streisand’s The Movie Album, Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, Monica Mancini’s Ultimate Mancini, Johnny Mathis’ Isn’t It Romantic, Jane Monheit’s Taking a Chance On Love, Patti Austin’s For Ella, Barry Manilow’s A Christmas Gift of Love, Vince Gill’s Breath of Heaven, Barry Manilow’s Manilow Sings Sinatra and Amy Grant’s A Christmas to Remember . In 2000 Gregg released his debut solo CD entitled The Art of Swing and in 2001 Vic Firth introduced the Gregg Field Signature Drum Stick.

Not only a highly respected musician, Gregg is also an in-demand record producer and is a partner at Concord Music Group. Concord swept the 2005 Grammy Awards with the triple-platinum Album of the Year, the Ray Charles release Genius Loves Company. Gregg has recently completed production work on the follow up to Genius Loves Company titled Ray Sings / Basie Swings (due September 2006). His recent work includes Monica Mancini’s double-Grammy nominated Ultimate Mancini, George Benson / Al Jarreau’s Givin’ It Up (due October 2006), the single Make Them Hear You with Vince Gill, Toby Keith and Patti Austin, Concord Records 30th Anniversary-Live at Montreux, Patti Austin’s Grammy nominee For Ella, the main title to the Robert Zemeckis / Joel Silver film Ghost Ship, the Grammy nominated Soul Call by Nnenna Freelon and the Grammy nominated Earth by Bob Florence. Gregg also produced the Grammy nominated debut CD of the new Playboy Jazz label, the CBS miniseries soundtrack Blonde.

Gregg’s film and television credits include: Beyond the Sea, White Chicks, A Hot Time in Harlem-70 Years at the Apollo Theatre , Eight Cazy Nights, Ghost Ship, The Score, The Kennedy Center Honors, The Grammy Hall of Fame Awards, Frank Sinatra, The Man and His Music, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, A Carnegie Hall Tribute to Count Basie, Basie and Bennett Together Again, The Soul Train Awards, Night Court with Mel Torme, MTV, VH-I, Monica Mancini: On Record PBS, and the Sinatra video release, The Sinatra Reprise Collection Vol.III.

Gregg has recently served as a Recording Academy Governor and Trustee and chairman of the Grammy Producers committee He is on the board and faculty of the Henry Mancini Institute at UCLA and has served on the faculty of the University of Southern California since 1983.

Gregg is an artist representative and clinician for Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Remo and Digidesign.

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Ray Charles and Count Basie - Ray Sings Basie Swings