Alexander's Ragtime Band

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.

Recorded in New York on 23 June 1959 with Clark Terry, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, Snookie Young, Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt - trumpets; Melba Liston, Quentin Jackson, Thomas Mitchell, Al Gray - trombones; Frank Wess - flute, alto and tenor sax; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves; Zoot Sims, Billy Mitchell, David Fathead Newman - tenor saxophones; Jose Mangual - bongo drums. Arranged by Ralph Burns. Trumpet solo by Marcus Belgrave.



Palais des Sports, Paris, 1961 (track # 6):


Live:
'61 LC Paris - 3x - Released
'62 LC Berlin - Released
'62 LC Paris - Released
'66 TV Palace
'73 LC Paris
'75 LC Madrid
'84 LC Ithaca
'88 LC Masson
'91 LC Montreux
'97 LC WolfTrap

Am I Blue (1, 2)

Am I Blue (1)
Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.
Single (A): May 1961, Atlantic 2106 b/w It Should Have Been Me.

Recorded on May 6, 1959 in New York with Bob Brookmeyer - tb; Ted Sommer - d; Allen Hanlon - g; Wendell Marshall - b; unidentified woodwinds, strings and singers. Ralph Burns - arranger, director.

Genius album:



Am I Blue (2)
Album: A Portrait Of Ray, ABC/Tangerine 625, March 1968.

For this album Ray recorded a new interpretation of the song - in itself a unique fact; it's the only song he studio-recorded for both Atlantic and Tangerine. This is also the arrangement that Ray from then on would perform live - many times in incredibly bluesy voice/trumpet dialogues with Johnny Coles.

Recorded at RPM International in Los Angeles in February 1968. With studio musicians (possibly including Carol Kaye on bass), woodwinds and a string section (all uncredited).

Portrait album (Track #3):


Japan 1975 - with Johnny Coles:


Live:
'69 LC Paris
'70 LC Prato
'70 TV Tom
'72 TV Cavett - 2x - With Dick Cavett
'75 LC Japan - Released
'76 LC Antibes
'76 LC Stuttgart
'78 LC Boston
'81 DM 20
'90 RS Piano - Just the basic song (p, voc)

Come Rain Or Come Shine

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.
Single (B) [edited version]: Atlantic 2084, November 1960 b/w Tell Me You'll Wait For Me.
Single (A) [edited version]: Atlantic 2470, December 1967 b/w  Tell Me You'll Wait For Me.

Recorded on 6 May 1959 in New York with Bob Brookmeyer - tb; Ted Sommer - ds; Allen Hanlon - g; Wendell Marshall - b; unidentified woodwinds and strings. Ralph Burns - arranger, director.

Album (solo: Bob Brookmeyer)


Palais des Sports, Paris, 1961 (solo: Don Wilkerson):


Live:
In live concerts, the tune would become 100% associated with Don Wilkerson, who was a notorious heroin addict. Right until the end of the band, the most memorable piece in the entire book of the Ray Charles Orchestra was the tenor part to Come Rain Or Come Shine, which was - literally - stained with Don's blood. This happened in 1979, when, as Dan Marcus recalls it, "Don got up to take a solo at Kimball's and walked right through his stand. He cut his hand on it, and his blood was ORANGE [...]. Still played his ass off that day, though he could barely stand. That's leaving a mark..."

'61 LC Zurich
'61 LC Paris - 2x - Released
'68 LC Fresno
'78 LC Antibes
'83 CL Antibes
'84 LC Nancy
'88 LC Oklahoma
'88 LC Saratoga
'91 LC BlueNote
'95 LC Tramps - 2x - Streams available
'96 LC Lugano

'Deed I Do

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.

Recorded in New York City on 23 June 1959.

With Clark Terry, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, Snookie Young, Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt - trumpets; Melba Liston, Quentin Jackson, Thomas Mitchell, Al Gray - trombones; Frank Wess - flute, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves, Zoot Sims, Billy Mitchell, David Fathead Newman (solo) - tenor saxophones. Quincy Jones – arranger, conductor.

Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'

Ad in Billboard (Dec. 1959).

Single.

Album: The Genius of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.

Single (B): Atlantic 2047, December 1959, b/w Let The Good Times Roll.
EP: Alexander's Ragtime Band/Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'/Atlantic 80.014, 1959, b/w Let The Good Times Roll/Come Rain Or Come Shine.

Sleeve of EP.

Recorded in New York City, on May 6, 1959.

Ray Charles - piano and vocals; Allen Hanlon - guitar; Wendell Marshall - bass; Ted Sommer - drums; Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone; Harry Lookofsky - concertmaster; Unidentified - large woodwinds and strings section; unidentified singers. Ralph Burns - arranger. Recording engineers: Bill Schwartau and Tom Dowd.

EP.

Newport Jazz Fest, 1960:


Live:
'60 LC Newport

It Had To Be You

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.

The elpee was recorded in New York on 23 June 1959 with Clark Terry - trumpet; Ernie Royal - trumpet; Joe Newman - trumpet; Snookie Young - trumpet; Marcus Belgrave - trumpet; John Hunt - trumpet; Melba Liston - trombone; Quentin Jackson - trombone; Thomas Mitchell - trombone; Al Gray - trombone; Frank Wess - flute, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves - tenor sax; Zoot Sims - tenor sax; Billy Mitchell - tenor sax; David Fathead Newman - tenor sax. Arranged by Ernie Wilkins.

Tenor solo by David Fathead Newman.

Don't miss the excellent live duet performance with Diane Schuur (below).



Polar 1998:


Miami 1999 (with Diane Schuur):


Live:
'98 TV BCTV
'98 TV Polar
'99 LC Miami - With Diane Schuur
'99 LC Marciac
'00 LC Paris
'03 LC Melbourne
'03 LC Whitehouse

Just For A Thrill

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.
Single (A): Atlantic 2055, April 1960 b/w Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying.

Recorded on 6 May 1959 in New York.

Ray Charles - piano and vocals; Allen Hanlon - guitar; Wendell Marshall - bass; Ted Sommer - drums; Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone; Harry Lookofsky - concertmaster; uncredited - woodwinds and strings; Ralph Burns - arranger (according to the liner notes, but in this interview Bob Brookmeyer claimed to have penned the chart).



Tokyo 1990:


Montreux 1997:


Live:

David Hoffman:

"I joined the Ray Charles orchestra in 1991. At that point it was Jim Rotondi's job to play the solo flugel spot on 'Just For a Thrill'. Every time they played it, I would let the magnificent sound of Jim's flugelhorn wash over me, taking in his vast harmonic sophistication, perfect time and dense purity of tone. The interplay between Ray and Jim was nothing short of spectacular. It was beautiful every time.
In 1992 Jeff Kaye came back into the band, and I was treated to his unique interpretation. He and Ray had a special connection. Carl Hunter had bootleg tapes of Johnny Coles playing the solo, and I devoured every note.
After Jeff left, Ray called me into his dressing room, saying 'Bring your flugelhorn'. He sat at the piano and said, 'Hoffy, let's play 103'. All the tunes in the book were referred to by number. Like all great accompanists, Ray made it easy to play, and I had a helluva lot of fun. After we finished Ray proceeded to give me some simple tips on how to approach the tune. We played it again. The difference was astounding. Ray did one of his patented chest slaps and said 'That's RIGHT'. And so it was. I treasure that private lesson with one of the worlds greatest musicians. And I never tired of playing this great tune with him."

Jim Rotondi:

"[...] RC called me in to speak to him about 103, too, but without my horn. He actually SANG the shit he wanted to hear. I've often wished small video recording devices like iPhones were around then."

'61 LC Paris - Released

'64 LC Comblain
'75 TV Cher
'87 LC Antibes
'87 TV TS
'89 LC Paris - 2x
'90 LC Dresden BB
'90 LC Italy
'90 LC Milan
'90 LC Rome
'90 LC Caneção
'90 LC Tokyo
'91 LC 50 Years
'95 LC Greenville
'95 LC Deauville
'95 LC Tramps - 2x
'96 LC London
'96 LC Maribor
'97 LC Montreux - Released
'99 LC NewOrleans NM
'99 LC Rheingau
'99 LC Glasgow
00 LC Basel
00 LC Paris - Released
01 LC Antibes
02 LC Pasadena
03 LC Melbourne
03 LC Whitehouse

Let The Good Times Roll

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.
Single: Atlantic 2047, December 1959, b/w Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'.

It's fun to see how the  writer, Louis Jordan, performed his song:


Quincy brilliantly adapted Louis Jordan's song to a magnificent big band chart for the Genius album.

Ray Charles - piano and vocals; Clark Terry - trumpet; Ernie Royal - trumpet; Joe Newman - trumpet; Snookie Young - trumpet; Marcus Belgrave - trumpet; John Hunt - trumpet; Melba Liston - trombone; Quentin Jackson - trombone; Thomas Mitchell - trombone; Al Gray - trombone; Frank Wess - flute, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves - tenor sax; Zoot Sims - tenor sax; Billy Mitchell - tenor sax; David Fathead Newman - tenor sax; Jose Mangual (bongo drums on #3).

After its first recording, it was one of the few numbers that Ray kept on playing through the decades.
Ray always sang Let The Good Time [singular] Roll.

Genius 1960:


It also worked out fine with just his septet - Antibes 1961:


'84 LC Warsaw (#4):


In 2001 at the Kennedy Center Ray & Stevie honored Quincy with this spectacular performance:


Live:
'60 LC Newport - Released
'61 LC Antibes - 4x - Released
'61 LC Paris - 2x - Released
'62 LC Paris - Released
'65 FI Ballad - Film
'65 FI TNT
'70 TV Humperdinck
'72 LC Paris - 2x
'72 LC Tel Aviv - Released
'73 LC Nassau
'73 LC Germany
'73 LC Arbor
'73 LC Stockholm
'73 LC Paris
'74 TV Cotton Club
'75 LC Japan - Released
'76 LC Antibes
'79 LC Antibes
'79 LC Viareggio
'80 LC Northsea
'81 LC Prague
'82 LC Antibes
'84 LC Warsaw - Released
'85 LC NewHaven
'90 LC Tokyo BB
'90 LC Dresden BB
'90 LC Italy
'90 LC Milan
'90 LC Rome
'91 LC Montreux
'95 LC Tramps
'96 LC London
'97 LC WolfTrap
'01 TV Kennedy - With Stevie Wonder, for Quincy Jones

Tell Me You'll Wait For Me

Atlantic 2084.

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312 (matrix # 3470), October 1959.
Single (A) [edited version]: Atlantic 2084 (matrix # 5097), November 1960 b/w Come Rain Or Come Shine.
Single (B) [edited version]: Atlantic 2470 (matrix # 5097), December 1967* b/w Come Rain Or Come Shine.

Recorded on 6 May 1959 in New York with Bob Brookmeyer - tb; Ted Sommer - d; Allen Hanlon - g; Wendell Marshall - b; unidentified - woodwinds and strings. Ralph Burns - arranger, director.

* Not sure if this year is correct. London, Atlantic's UK distributors, already issued a single with this content in December 1960.

Two Years Of Torture

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, 1959-10.

Percy Mayfield tune, recorded in New York on 23 June 1959. Arranged by Johnny Parks.
Tenor solo by Paul Gonsalves.

When Your Lover Has Gone

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, October 1959.

The Quincy tracks on this album were recorded in New York on 23 and 26 June 1959 with Clark Terry, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, Snookie Young, Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt - trumpets; Melba Liston, Quentin Jackson, Thomas Mitchell, Al Gray - trombones; Frank Wess - flute, alto & tenor sax; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves, Zoot Sims, Billy Mitchell, David Fathead Newman - tenor sax.

Arranged by Al Cohn.

Tenor solo on this one by David Fathead Newman.

You Won't Let Me Go

Album: The Genius Of Ray Charles, Atlantic 1312, 1959-10.

Recorded on 6 May 1959 in New York with Bob Brookmeyer - tb; Ted Sommer - d; Allen Hanlon - g; Wendell Marshall - b; unidentified woodwinds and strings. Ralph Burns - arranger, director.

The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)

Cover photo by Lee Friedlander.

1. Let The Good Times Roll (tenor solo by David Newman)
2. It Had To Be You (tenor solo by David Newman)  
3. Alexander's Ragtime Band (trumpet solo by Marcus Belgrave)
4. Two Years Of Torture (tenor solo by Paul Gonsalves)
5. When Your Lover Has Gone (tenor solo by David Newman)  
6. ‘Deed I Do (tenor solo by David Newman)  
7. Just For A Thrill
8. You Won't Let Me Go
9. Tell Me You'll Wait For Me
10. Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'
11. Am I Blue
12. Come Rain Or Come Shine 

This was the all-American pop album Ray Charles had always dreamed of recording, with a full orchestra and strings. Atlantic Records' VP Jerry Wexler stated in a 2005 interview that he had wanted to use the Genius title before, but had to hold back for two years: "[...] my partners dissuaded me – that is, Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun – they said, ‘Let’s not get so boastful.’ Finally, we all agreed that the album deserved the appellation so that’s how it came about."
The album won the 196r0 Grammy Award in the Pop category for Best Vocal Performance Album as well as the Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance on Let The Good Times Roll.

Personnel:

  From Ebony, March 1960. The location may be Phil Ramone's
A&R Studio at 112 West 48th St. in NYC.

(1 - 6): Ray Charles - piano and vocals; Clark Terry - trumpet; Ernie Royal - trumpet; Joe Newman - trumpet; Snookie Young - trumpet; Marcus Belgrave - trumpet; John Hunt - trumpet; Melba Liston - trombone; Quentin Jackson - trombone; Thomas Mitchell - trombone; Al Gray - trombone; Frank Wess - flute, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone; Marshall Royal - alto sax; Paul Gonsalves - tenor sax; Zoot Sims - tenor sax; Billy Mitchell - tenor sax; David Fathead Newman - tenor sax; Allen Hanlon - guitar; Wendell Marshall - bass; Ted Sommer - drums; Jose Mangual (bongo drums on #3); Quincy Jones – arranger, conductor.
(7 - 12): Ray Charles - piano and vocals; Allen Hanlon - guitar; Wendell Marshall - bass; Ted Sommer - drums; Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone; Harry Lookofsky - concertmaster; Unidentified - large woodwinds and strings section; Ralph Burns* - arranger. Recording engineers: Bill Schwartau and Tom Dowd.

* In this interview Bob Brookmeyer claims the arrangements for Just For A Thrill and You Won’t Let Me Go.

Promotional EP.

Recorded at Phil Ramone's A&R Studio in New York on 6 May, and - with Quincy Jones - on 23 and 26 June 1959. Atlantic 1312, 1959-10.
In 1959 Atlantic also released a promotional EP (#619) entitled The Genius Of Ray Charles, with Let The Good Times Roll / Come Rain Or Come Shine // Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin' / Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Youtube playlist: here.