Album Notes

Released in 1999, Naked Soul was the second solo outing for composer pianist Raymond Jones. He began to conceptualize the project after ending his assignment as music director for the Keenen Ivory Wayans talk show. The first recording had taken place in 1997 after his father had passed. It was the acoustic piano piece Peaceful Journey and was dedicated to his father. Jones explains, “I was taking a redeye to New York when my dad was in the hospital before he passed and in the early morning light, it was so serene and peaceful watching the clouds with the rising sun coming into view. I hope Dad’s transition was like that.”

Other highlights of the project include the Danilo Caymmi piece Codajas which is sung by Arnold McCuller. Jones mentions, “My neighbors at the time included composer Dori Caymmi (Danilo's brother) and his wonderful wife Helena. They came around when Arnold did the vocals to make sure his pronunciation was correct with the Portuguese lyrics. I spoke to Dori a couple of months later and there had been some sort of bust at the home next door to mine. When Dori (who was out taking his daily walk) saw the police near my home he thought, ‘the song wasn't that bad.’”

The song Funny.. Isn’t It was originally written for Whitney Houston for the film The Preacher’s Wife. Before performing this song live, Jones relates the story to his audience that within a week Funny.. had gone from record company president Clive Davis’ choice to outcast. Jones adds, “The original piano/vocal demo was recorded with Portia Griffin singing and her husband Khaliq Glover recording it for me and we did it on Valentine’s Day. So I suppose it was destined to be a song for Portia all along.”

The song The Lights was based on an occurrence in Phoenix AZ that was featured in a documentary and in newscasts. “I wanted to create a piece that sounded like it was done at a gathering in the desert with a tribe of drummers and lots of droning instruments filling the air with sounds. I imagined the coyotes in the background waiting for us to finish before they began their performance for the evening.”

With the song Freestyle, Jones wanted to emulate the skills of a rapper over a groove. Once the track was assembled the piano solo was done in one take and mixed.

Jones’ favorite song on the album is the almost seven minute long Why Did You Lie which features a horn section and a rhythm section with Bassist Del Atkins, Drummer Tony Moore and Guitarist Randy Hall. Portia Griffin again is featured and Jones recalls, “Near the end of the piece, I asked Portia to sing some of the types of things she did on the piece I wrote, We Already Said Goodbye which was featured on the School Daze soundtrack and movie. She gladly obliged and here is yet another example of musical expression and beauty I was lucky enough to capture..I like to say that its all about calling the right people in for the job. I feel so lucky that over the years, the people I ask to come over and contribute their musical gifts to my projects say yes.”

The title cut Naked Soul was recorded with a string quartet (Raymond’s favorite string ensemble) and is the expression of a man hoping to find love, the next time.

The photography on the project was done by the celebrated artist, Greg McNeal whose work has been part of a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution. The cover was shot on a cloudy morning in Malibu CA with the Baywatch crew down the road and riptide warnings from the weather department. Jones recounts, “I remember Greg telling me I needed to go deeper into the water. I told him the waves will just have to reach me. An hour later we had our shot. I have a copy of the print framed and hanging in my home.”