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17 December 2010

Ray Charles Live In Torino (1971)

My sources on the contents of this bootleg-CD are highly contradictive. For documental reasons I've described them all below.

But let's start with the correct track list:
Collection André Monnot.
  1. Intro + Tears Inside (erroneously, titled Blues Connotation on the bootleg CD) (Ray Charles Orchestra; Ray on piano)
  2. The Bright Lights And You Girl
  3. Georgia On My Mind
  4. You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)
  5. The Long And Winding Road
  6. Feel So Bad 
  7. Leave My Man Alone (ft Vernita Moss)
  8. I Can’t Stop Loving You 
  9. Bad Water (ft Mable John)
  10. Indian Love Call (ft Susaye Greene)
  11. What’d I Say + Outro
This was not a very inspired performance. What's worse about the sound recording, is that the balance between the singers and the orchestra was mixed by an amateur, and that on the CD the tracks were separated by another idiot.
The instrumental, track #1, is decently mixed. It is the Ornette Coleman tune Tears Inside from 1959 (listen to this). (The title chosen for the CD, and there also quoted as the title for this track - Blues Connotation - is from another, much better known Coleman composition).
Reeds and trumpets played out a nice battle. Marcus Belgrave (1st) and Jack Walrath (2nd) fought out the trumpet-part.* Edgar Willis picked his longest bass solo ever recorded. Ray played piano on it.
Track #7 (Leave My Man Alone) and # 9 (Bad Water) are only known from the 1972 album The Raeletts - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow). Ray gave #7 (Leave My Man Alone, a long, ditty-ish, intro on the theme "Take Me To Your Leader" (rhyming to "Her Name Is Vernita").

Personnel
A trustworthy source has inferred the line-up from the corrupt liner notes on the bootleg CD and a concert that took place in October '71, in Paris.
Musicians: Marcus Belgrave, Thomas Cortez, Frank Szabo, Jack Walrath (tp); Glenn Childress, Dana Hughes, Jules Rowell, Mayo Tiana (tb); James Clay, Jay Cloyd Miller (as); Andy Ennis, David Newman (ts); Leroy Cooper (bs, bandleader); Charles “Bags” Costello (org), Ben Martin (g), Edgar Willis (bs-g), Ernie Elly (dm). Raelettes: Dorothy Berry, Susaye Greene, Mable John, Vernita Moss.

Following the indication on the bootleg pictured above, the concert has always been dated on August 8, 1971. I've only found documentation about a concert in Torino, on 9 October 1971 - a much more credible date since Ray and the band were touring Italy around that time.
* Thanks to Jack Walrath for identifying the title and the trumpet players. Thanks to André "Jazz" Monnot for sharing the CD with me.

Corrupt notes from other sources
This source presented the first track on this bootleg with the title Blues Connotation, and gives the following, unusually corrupt, track list; I'm quoting it including the obvious errors):
1. Blues Connotation 5:59
2. Blues is my middle name 2:28
3. Georgia on my mind 4:44
4. Snow is fallin' 2:32
5. Hey now 4:03
6. What I'd say 4:34
7. Goin' down slow 8:04
8. I can't stop loving you 3:25
9. I don't need no doctor 3:04
10. Title Unknown 6:47
11. Hallelujah, I love her so 4:54

The bootleg CD also has some liner notes, specifying the personnel - again with numerous corruptions:
John Szabo, Thomas Cortex, Arthur Walruth, Dana Hughes (trumpets); Andy Dennis, Ismael Lopez, James Rowell, Marcus Belgrave (trumpets); Glenn Childress (trombones); Cloyd Miller, Earl Clay (alto saxophones); David Newman (tenor saxophone); Leroy Cooper (bariton saxophone); Charles Bunds (piano, organ); James Martin (Guitar); Edgar Willis (bass); Ernest Elly (drums).

A second source, listed a completely different track list that was much more consistent with Ray's contemporary concerts, be it also with a number of corrupt details:
1. Intro & unidentified instrumental
2. That's You Girl
3. Georgia On My Mind
4. You Make Me Love You
5. The Long And Winding Road
6. Feel So Bad
7. Take Me to Your Leader & You Better Leave My Man Alone
8. I Can't Stop Loving You
9. Hey Boy
10. When I'm Calling You
11. What'd I Say & outro

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