Kenny Blue Ray has appeared on some 50 Recordings, and is a Soulful Blues Guitarist, who takes His Time.
Add a first class Band and Master Black RnB Vocalist, Jackie Payne, you get some serious Soulful Blues, Try Voodoo Chile, the Live Jimi Hendrix Tune, (Not the one SRV covered) It's back to John Lee Hooker/ Muddy Waters, with some Jimi thrown Down! This cd ihas been #1 on about 15 Blues Radio Stations from Australia to Deep in Dallas, Texas. Bay Area, Northern California Guitarist Kenny Blue Ray, has, with his 12th cd, really Hit it this time!
Kenny "Blue" Ray has appeared on over 50 recordings, including appearances with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marcia Ball, Ronnie Earl, Charlie Musselwhite, Anson Funderburgh, and many others.
SOULFUL BLUES is a statement of Class and Soul.
When it comes to hard-hitting blues guitar, Kenny Blue Ray is the real deal. Every once in a while someone comes along who pleasantly reminds one that there is some uncharted talent ready to explode on the blues scene, and this is the moment for Ray! A Bay Area resident, Ray is considered one of the top guitarists around; certainly one of the most prolific performers on the West Coast, if not the country. He performed in London, England from 1969-'72. He has had over a dozen solo albums released, all of which have received strong reviews - and there have been over 65 reviews of his CDs! Ray's releases,"Fired Up," "Cadillac Tone" "Strat Daddy" "Pull the Strings," "Git It," "Blues My Axe," "Blues Obsession," "Soulful Blues," and his latest, "Got Blues," have all appeared on Tone King Records. The British publication, Blues & Rhythm, has consistently listed his releases among the top 10 selling albums in England. Ray is a guitar instrumentalist of the less is more school, who conveys a control and mastery of each note; a musician who knows no limit to tone. In Mick Rainsford's review of Ray's "Pull the Strings"album in Blues & Rhythm magazine, he wrote "...if you have any interest whatsoever in blues guitar playing of the highest quality, be it that big fat Texas tone of Albert Collins, the slashing chords and swing of T-Bone Walker, Hendrix-inspired distorted aggression, the deep blues tone and feel of all the Kings, or searing licks we associate with SRV, then you have no option other than to discover for yourself what Kenny Blue Ray is all about."
Ray was a long-time fixture in the Marcia Ball Band while living in Texas and teamed with Stevie Ray Vaughan on Ball's "Soulful Dress" album on Rounder. He has also performed with Albert Collins, Ronnie Earl, Earl King, Hollywood Fats, William Clarke, Big Joe Turner and Pee Wee Crayton, to name a few.
BLUES ACCESS
SUMMER 2001 ISSUE
KENNY "BLUE" RAY featuring JACKIE PAYNE
Soulful Blues, Tone King 1066
Kenny "Blue" Ray has utilized his experience with numerous Blues Legends over the past 30 years to develop into the kind of solo artist who inspires because his great guitar playing sounds effortless. Whether it's the slow burn on "Blue Monday" or the punched-up turn on Albert Collins' "Hot 'N' Cold," Kenny Ray let's his guitar do the talking. He's teamed up with vocalist Jackie Payne for all but one cut on this release, scaling back the guitar attack a bit to allow Payne's vocals to simmer on their soulful cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile," punctuating Payne's singing on Howlin Wolf's "Who's Been Talking," and letting it sing to us on Leo Gooden's "C.O.D." This set makes a great disc for a road trip.
John Koetzner
Soulful Blues
Kenny "Blue" Ray featuring Jackie Payne
Tone King Records
By Bob Putignano
Wow! The liner notes state that this is Kenny's eleventh release in just seven years, well this guy has to be the best kept secret in the blues business, because this recording is a delight from beginning to end. And what more needs to be said about the featured Jackie Payne who shines throughout here.
It's pedal to the metal on New Orleans great Earl King's, "A Man Needs His Lovin" with great vocals from Jackie and a hot guitar break from KBR. Listen to the horn charts which is reminiscent of the early Albert Collins bands. Next is Aaron "T-Bone" Walker's "Mean Old World" and does this band ever lay down a smooth groove, with nice B3 work from Audie de Lone, and real clear and clean guitar work from Kenny. Jackie and the band scat sweetly through, "Road Block", and I love when Jackie calls out, "Ah Blue let me hear ya," as Kenny wails on his solo break, followed by some, "Fathead" like tenor by Carl Green. Hendrix's, "Voodoo Chile" seems a odd choice for this collection, but they make it their own thing without the obligatory Hendrix copy by Kenny, and a different soulful arrangement, with nice 70's exploratory jam band guitar, and strong vocals by Jackie. Its back to the blues basics on King Albert's, "Lonesome", and it seems obvious that Kenny was deeply affected by the late great Albert King. Speaking of the aforementioned Albert Collins, on this CD's lone instrumental is Collin's, "Hot n' Cold" with a fine tenor intro and exit from Carl Green, followed by some Iceman like stinging by KBR, and finds the band in a solid swing. The Wolf's, "Who's Been Talking" is a classic Chicago soul Howl, with Kenny doing the Hubert sounds on guitar. Don Robey's, "Blues Monday" is given a smoky late night club feel, and Kenny must be a java man, as he reaches out on guitar when Jackie speaks about his needed dose of black coffee, then Kenny stretches out for a nice long guitar solo. What a perfect choice for the band to choose Darrell Nulisch and Steve Gomes's, "Stop Thinkin' Take". Check out Kenny's Burrell/Montgomery like chording, which is a pleasure to hear on a blues recording. This band really gets it in a beautiful jump style on, "Home At Last", listen to the subtle shifts in swing, as they dig down deep and teach us what it is all about, and where it all came from on my favorite track on the album. One of Albert King's regular favorites was Leo Gooden's, "COD" the album's closing track, with Kenny paying deep respect to the one and only Albert King, in a classic like, "Live Wire/Blues Power" form. In all my years of listening, I have never heard anyone come close to nailing Albert the way Kenny does here, it's almost eerie, but wonderful.
If it is not obvious how I feel about this recording, then read the above paragraphs again! This is a great CD. Now I need to find those other eleven releases. Needless to say, I highly recommend this CD, and Kenny "Blue" Ray. Now lets get him to the NY area. Cross your fingers, as there is a remote possibility that thanks to the good folks at the South Jersey Jazz & Blues Foundation, and a intro to my buddy Nick Coppola, we may have the good fortune of seeing Kenny and is band at Great Adventure in September. Stay tuned.
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