These photos were made by David Redfern, who later remembered the conditions at Comblain-la-Tour as "a mud bath".
With Joe Napoli.
The International Jazz Festival in Comblain-La-Tour, in the Belgian Ardennes, built a huge international reputation in the years between 1959 and 1966 (its tradition was revived in 2009). Ray Charles first performed here in 1961, on July 29 or 30, shortly after his - now famous - first Antibes concerts, i.e. accompanied by his 'small big band'.
Festival leaflet.
On August 9, 1964 Ray returned with his full big band entourage, headlining the festival. The concert started late because of "une pluie battante" (pouring rain), but according to the history pages of the festival's website no one in the audience complained. The Genius finally reached the stage "enveloppé de gendarmes" (surrounded by police men). It may be my imagination, but it's as if I could hear the rain falling during all tracks of the concert's 50-minute audio recording (the taping appears to be complete, but note that Georgia is missing!):
Moanin' (with Ray Charles Orchestra)
Busted
I've Got A Woman
Margie
Hide Nor Hair
Just For A Thrill
Just A Little Lovin'
Baby Don't You Cry
In The Evening
Hallelujah I Love Her So
Hit The Road Jack
Don't Set Me Free (with Lillie Fort)
What'd I Say (+ outro on Pop Goes The Weasel)
Interviewed by Benoît Querson, before the concert.
During its first existence, the festival worked closely together with the French-language Belgian public radio station RTB - more specifically with the makers of their show Jazz Pour Tous (Jazz For All), Nicolas Dor and Jean-Marie Peterken, but the audio that I listened to sounded more like a (rather mediocre, muffled) board mix.
The Raelettes, in their new line-up, only appeared for the three last tunes. On August 14, 1964 the Belgian public TV station BRT looked back on the festival (and the rain) with a 2m22s item, featuring Ray Charles and Memphis Slim.
"If it's really something good that was not on the record, that's okay, because when I perform I can make the performance of the song better than the record was."
The Genie
Ray Charles at the Apollo (Apr. or maybe Oct. 1959), working on his Wurlitzer. Photo by Alex Harsley.
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About
The Ray Charles Video Museum is a research project, documenting live performances by The Genius.
This blog is above all aMediagraphy. It's also a discography (or, more correctly, a trackography), aggregating all tunes that Ray sang and/or played - including the "canon" of 700 tracks listed on the official Ray Charles website, but also identifying the songs that have never been officially released, and e.g. the recordings of other artists, where Ray backed them on piano. Thirdly, this blog has evolved into a multimedia Chronology (click the years in the panel al the top of this page) of Ray's productive live.
I also try to do some justice to the more than 1,000 great musicians and singers who contributed to Ray's career (1, 2).
The Quotes page lists the wisest, craziest and funniest things that the Genius ever said. If you want to read more about Brother Ray, go here.
The availability of the streaming video and audio content on this blog is constantly under pressure. Some rights owners still think that sharing these videos damages their sales. I'm keeping disfunctional clips as placeholders - to show that the footage exists, and to replace them when new uploads appear on the Web.
The articles in this blog are continuously updated and improved. Your help is more than welcome.
The Bishop seduces the world with his voice
Sweat strangles mute eyes
As insinuations gush out through a hydrant of sorrow
Dreams, a world never seen
Mounded on Africa's anvil, tempered down home
Documented in cries and wails
Screaming to be ignored, crooning to be heard
Throbbing from the gutter
On Saturday night
Silver offering only,
The Right Reverend's Back in Town
Don't it make you feel all right?
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