NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED RAY
CHARLES TAPES DISCOVERED;
RESULTING
CONCORD/STARBUCKS HEAR MUSIC’S ALBUM IS A GROUND-BREAKING HYBRID
OF ARCHIVAL TRACKS AND
EXCLUSIVE NEW PERFORMANCES
New CD Pairs Ray
Charles’s Stellar Vocals With New Recordings by The Count Basie
Orchestra, Mixing Creative Musicianship
and State-of-the-Art
Technology
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.”
Liner
Notes Attached.
About Concord Music Group:
Concord Records merged with
Fantasy, Inc. in 2004 to create the Concord Music Group, strengthening
its preeminent position as one of the largest independent record
companies in the world and keeper of an extraordinarily rich and, in
many cases, historically significant catalog of recordings.
They include titles from some of the most admired and enduring
names in music, including Rosemary Clooney, John Coltrane, Creedence
Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Isaac Hayes, Little
Richard, Thelonious Monk, Tito Puente, Dave Brubeck, George Shearing,
Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson and Mel Torme. The group’s current roster of
world-class artists includes: Karrin Allyson, Regina Belle, Michael
Feinstein, Nnenna Freelon, John Fogerty, LaToya London, Sergio Mendes,
Ozomatli, Eddie Palmieri, The Rippingtons, Sonny Rollins and Poncho
Sanchez. Late last year,
Concord acquired Telarc
International and Heads Up International, renowned for their roster of
artists including Tierney Sutton, John Pizarrelli, Ladysmith Black
Mambazo and Spyro Gyra.
About
Starbucks Entertainment:
Starbucks
Coffee Company launched Starbucks Entertainment in 2004 to help
customers discover quality entertainment options as part of their
daily coffee routines. Starbucks Coffee Company
first acquired Hear Music in 1999 to become Starbucks Hear Music, the
sound of music at Starbucks. Starbucks Hear Music has made a
transformative impact on the music industry by providing a new and
convenient way for consumers to discover, experience and acquire all
genres of great music through its Hear Music™ CD compilations, its
innovative partnerships with other music labels to co-release, market
and distribute both exclusive and non-exclusive music, its 24-hour
digital music channel on XM Satellite Radio (XM Channel 75) and its
breakthrough Hear Music™ Coffeehouses in Santa Monica, San Antonio and
Miami. Starbucks Hear Music™ CD selections can be
purchased at Starbucks retail locations around the world, as well as
online at
www.starbucks.com/hearmusic.
In 2006, Starbucks Entertainment extended beyond music and
announced a unique partnership with Lionsgate to market and distribute
the inspirational film “Akeelah and the Bee.” The
company expects the film to be the first of many such partnerships
that help customers discover unique and rewarding entertainment.
