Ray Charles Live In Paris Symphony Concert (1990)

On February 14, 1990, Ray Charles played a concert with the Orchestre Symphonique d’Ile-de-France (conducted by Serge Gandolfi) at the  Pavillon d’Armenonville, in Paris. Europe-1 took care of a live radio broadcast. From his orchestra's rhythm section Ray also brought Kenny Carr on guitar.

1. They Can't Take That Away From Me
2. If You Go Away
3. It Hurts To Be In Love
4. Eleanor Rigby
5. Take These Chains From My Heart
6. That Lucky Old Sun
7. All I Ever Need Is You
8. Yesterday
9. Lay Around And Love On You (All I Wanna Do Is --)

Ray Charles In Newport (1993)

Update January 22, 2017:
ConcertVault.com has made the whole concert available. Watch it here.

The setlist was:
01. [Intro band +] Metamorphosis (Ray Charles Orchestra)
02. [Intro RC + Walk-on +] Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune)
03. Busted
04. Georgia On My Mind
05. Mississippi Mud
06. How Long Has This Been Going On*
07. Blues For Big Scotia
08. Still Crazy After All These Years
09. Feel So Bad
10. [Intro Raelettes +] Don't Set Me Free
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. I Believe To My Soul
13. What'd I Say [truncated]
14. Outro

*David Hoffman on the problem during his solo: ""A flugelhorn malfunction, I remember it well. The tuning slide screw, which is on the lead pipe close to the mouthpiece, somehow came loose (heat maybe?), causing the horn to come into my face. Nothing like that has happened [to me] before or since!" 

I sometimes scan Ebay for raycharlesiana. It's an excellent source for rare photos, and historic news & promotion materials.

As a source for new information on actual Ray Charles album or video releases it's not that good. Worse, the endless historical variation of compilations and (re-)releases most often only contaminates my database. Debunking of some corrupt releases or corrupt descriptions of legit materials (with false or wrong titles and/or production details) in some cases has cost me hours.
Finding a genuine "new" video recording (i.e. a video of which I hadn't found a trace in any other of my sources) of a Ray Charles concert has never happened before. But here it is.

On August 14, 1993, Ray performed at Fort Adams State Park in a program of the Newport Jazz Festival. The other featured artists were Grover Washington Jr., Horace Silver, Joshua Redman, and Michel Camilo.
JVC released a video compilation of parts of the program - with Charles, Redman and Camilo, plus (from the same stage or from another program?) a performance by The Brecker Brothers - under the title JVC Jazz Festival Newport, R.I., and subtitled The 10th Anniversary 1993 - The JVC Jazz Festivals.

This VHS was part of a long running series of purely promotional, yearly JVC-initiated releases with the fixed catchline "JVC presents the best of international jazz festivals". A disclaimer on the backside of the covers stipulated that "Sale of this videocassette is prohibited".
After a quick scan of the Web, I also found editions for 1987, 1991, 1994, and 1997.

Hypothetically, the footage on the 1993 VHS could be originating from other, older concerts, but seeing the authentic-looking stage photos* and the credits on the back of the cover, my conclusion for now is that this video was indeed shot at Newport 1993.

From Ray Charles' concert the following tunes made it to the VHS (incl. obvious corrections):

1. How Long Has This Been Going On
2. Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune)
3. Still Crazy After All These Years
4. Feel So Bad

On the reproduction of the VHS cover a small unreadable text follows the title of tune #1. The correct title of #2 is Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune).
The credits specify that the footage was "Recorded by JVC" and "Published by Festival Productions, Inc."

See this insert in New York Magazine of June 14, 1993, for more information on JVC's role in this edition of the Newport Jazz Festival.

* For further research: I found a small b/w photo that, according to its source, is associated with this same concert. On that photo Brother Ray is wearing a different suit jacket...

This concert was probably also broadcast by PBS. It's not clear if the contents of the VHS came from the (complete concert's?) taping by PBS. Trombone player Steve Sigmund remembers that "[...] '93 was the year that our performance was taped for a PBS special in the US. I have only seen a few songs [#2, #3 and #4, BS] floating around YouTube over the years. There was a great clip of Feel So Bad where they unfortunately edited out a great guitar solo by Kenny Carr."
I've watched a copy of what seems to be a separate release of Ray Charles' part in the VHS described above, 20 minutes long, directed by Mustapha Khan, and also branded and promotionally distributed by JVC.

It's titled Ray Charles - Newport Jazz '93 - The 40th year Of The Newport Jazz Festval. It entails all four tunes mentioned above. The style was documentary, with many cross cuts from Ray & the band to audience reactions, and festival sphere shots that are strongly reminiscent to Bert Stern's 1958 film Jazz On A Summers Day.

Personnel:
A rare thing (for footage like this) is that the band members are neatly credited in the end titles (with obvious corrections, BS):
Larry Foyen, David Hoffman, Kenny Scharf, Kurt Weiss - trumpets; Pete Beltran, Mike Guerrier, Armin Marmolejo, Steve Sigmund - trombones; Steve Elliott, Al Jackson (band leader), Al Waters,  Rudy Johnson, Jim Farnsworth - saxophones; Peter Turre - drums; Kenny Carr - guitar; Tom Fowler - bass; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards. The Raelettes: Angela Workman, Trudy Cohran, Michelle King, Elaine Woodard, Estella Yarbrough - backing vocals.

To add to the confusion, the same digital copy also holds (segments of) performances by other stars, at other JVC events: a concert at the Northsea Jazz Festival by the Brecker Brothers,  a performance by Michel Camilo and a song performed by Joe Williams from a show celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, held in a tent on the lawn of the White House, with Bill Clinton in the audience.

Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune):


Feel So Bad (with stupid edit of guitar solo - probably about 15 seconds were taken out; the director also totally missed Ernie Vantrease' organ solo):


Still Crazy After All These Years:

Ray Charles Live In Deauville (1995)

 Photo taken in the
Summer of 1995, in
France; exact location
unknown. 

Today I was able to listen in to (most of) a concert that was entirely new to me, documenting the show on 5 July 1995, at the Swing In music festival in Deauville. The tape I heard was a copy of a radio broadcast; most tunes were just slightly truncated at the beginning, probably because an amateur editor tried to get rid of comments by the radio show's host or reporter.
The broadcast (or its edit) didn't represent the whole concert. I Can't Stop Loving You and What'd I Say are no doubt missing from it. What remained didn't contain any surprises:

1. Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune)
2. Busted
3. Georgia On My Mind
4. Some Enchanted Evening
5. Just For A Thrill 
6. If I Could
7. Stranger In My Own Home Town
8. A Song For You
9. Knock On Wood (with The Raelettes)

An Early Handbill Of A Gig At Elks' Patio In Redwood City, With Lowell Fulson (1951)

Earliest known handbill of a Ray Charles gig, the "sensational blind singing star", with Lowell Fulson at Elks' Patio in Redwood City, CA. Looking at the bit of adhesive tape at the top of the picture, this can't have been bigger than a postcard (and it may have been re-published as such).
Update: the size was 3.5 x 5.5". The item was re-sold through Ebay several times since I first noticed it, the last time for $7,422.73. See this (also for a an unretouched repro).

The Genius Lighting Up His Pipe (1963)

Ray Charles, smoking a pipe in 1963.

Newspapers' photo archives are a relatively new category of - increasingly valuable - online sources for historical research. So far, a limited number of (mainly American) newspapers have created little photo archive webshops, from which they sell quality photo prints (i.e. copies) from their collections. The Chicago Tribune is a very active first mover in this niche market.
One of the most active players in this space is HistoricImages, who frequently buy up archives, and currently are auctioning out small stacks of original newspaper photo prints  over Ebay.
The photo at the left was shot by Denver Post staff photographer Jack Riddle. The verso side has a small clipping glued to it with a snippet of the published article. The caption to it obviously refers to a concert at DU (University of Denver).

Ray Charles Live In Prague (1981)

On 28 April 1981 Ray Charles played at the Palác Lucerna in Prague. The TV program was directed by A. Nosek. The Czech TV archive has a 64 minute tape (last televized on 20 June 2004). I've also listened to a 61-minute audio copy, which may have been extracted from the TV concert (but it could also be a copy of a radio broadcast). 
The audience in Prague was very eager to let Ray know that they recognized every tune after the first notes of the intro, adding a nice, lively ambiance to the tape.


Personnel:
Musicians: Mitch Manker, Larry Viau, Brian Pearcy, and Johnny Coles - trumpets; John Boice, Dan Marcus, Mayo Tiana, Steve Davis - trombones; Rickey Woodard, Clifford Solomon, Ira Weinstein, Rudy Johnson, Louis Van Taylor - saxes; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards; Tony Matthews - guitar; Matt Morris - bass; Peter Turre - drums.* The Raelettes:  unidentified, Stella Yarbrough, Trudy Cohran, unidentified.

* Tiana and Vantrease not 100% sure (line-up info band by Peter Turre). 



The setlist was:

1. Intro
2. Let The Good Times Roll
3. Georgia On My Mind
4. You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)
5. Yesterday
6. Born To Lose
7. Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune)
8. She Knows
9. Rock Steady (with The Raelettes)
10. Take These Chains From My Heart
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. I Can See Clearly Now
13. Crying Time
14. Lonesome Blue Yodel + I'm Gonna Keep On Singin' + What'd I Say
15. Outro

The improv leading to a variation on What'd I Say (#14) was very similar to the final of the 1981 Edmonton concert.

Ray Charles and The Raelettes; stills from the Prague concert on April 28, 1981.

Ray Charles' Christmas Special In Tokyo (1990)

This poster may be from the
Japan (and Hong Kong?) tour
discussed here.

After touring the world - including Japan, in October 1990 - with B.B. King and the Philip Morris Superband, Ray returned to Japan with his own band and The Raelettes only two months later for a series of 11 concerts (including 3 "dinner shows").
One of these dinner shows was labeled as a Christmas concert - a feat that by that time had become an almost yearly tradition for the Ray Charles group.
When I first posted about the six clips embedded below, I guessed that the concert might have entailed a few more tunes, like the never missing I Can't Stop Loving You, and Ray's 'Japanese hit' Ellie, My Love.
These were indeed part of the concert, but after watching the integral TV program, titled Ray Charles In Japan - Christmas Special*, it turns out to have been one of the most extensive Ray Charles shows that was ever televized.

The program no doubt was aired shortly before Christmas. The video didn't have any credits or station logo. The event took place in Takanawa, in a rather sterile hall, with an almost silent audience, sitting at dinner tables. But Ray (radiating energy  throughout the concert, and with a flawless rendition of She Knows), the Orchestra (with a sparkling set of instrumentals, and marvelous solos), and The Raelettes (with a great version of Giving Up by Trudy Cohran) were in great shape that night.

The tracklist** was:

1. Sister Sadie (Ray Charles Orchestra) (solos by Jeff Kaye - tp; Jeff Alkire - bs)
2. The Team (Ray Charles Orchestra) (solos by Rudy Johnson - ts; Jeff Kaye - fh; David Rokeach - d) 
3. Everybody's Blues (Ray Charles Orchestra) (solos Jeff Kaye, Ted Murdock - tp; Ernest Vantrease - kb; Kenny Carr - g; Benoït Grey - b) 
4. Horns In Minor (Ray Charles Orchestra) (solo by Marc Fields - tb) 
5. Spain (Ray Charles Orchestra) (solos by Jeff Kaye - tp; Craig Bailey - as) 
6. Intro
7. Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune)
8. Busted
9. Georgia On My Mind
10. Mississippi Mud
11. Just For A Thrill 
12. Teardrops From My Eyes
13. Ellie, My Love
14. I Feel So Bad
15. If You Wouldn't Be My Lady
16. She Knows
17. Chain Of Fools (The Raelettes)
18. Giving Up (ft Trudy Cohran)
19. Smack Dab In The Middle
20. I Can't Stop Loving You
21. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer 
22. What'd I Say
23. Outro (1)
24. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
25. Outro (2)

The show started with 5 instrumentals by the Orchestra. The biggest surprise of this show was in the end, where The Genius sang two Christmas songs (#21 and #24), the only known live recorded versions of these tunes with the Ray Charles Orchestra.
At three instances the footage of the show was interrupted by pre-recorded interview sequences (in which Ray revealed how he always loved celebrating Christmas with his kids, went through his "I'm just a utility man" routine, and shared his also frequently published plans to spend the rest of his life just making more music, and coaching young talent).

Personnel:

Musicians: Chuck Parrish, Jeff Kaye, Ted Murdock, Kenny Rampton - trumpets; Steve Sigmund, Mike  Guerrier, Marc Fields, Wayne Coniglio - trombones; Craig Bailey, Al Jackson, Rudy Johnson, Al Waters, Jeff Alkire - saxophones; David Rokeach - drums; Kenny Carr - guitar; Benoît Grey - bass; Ernest Vantrease - organ. The Raelettes: Angie Workman, Valerie Washington, Estella Yarbrough, Kay Nickerson, Trudy Cohran.

* Many thanks to Hector Tarín. ** Solos attributed by Jeff Helgesen and David Hoffman.

Of one of the earlier concerts during this Japan tour a board mix has survived. I have listened to a duet by Ray and Angie Workman, on Baby It's Cold Outside.

The complete show:


Sister Sadie:

Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune):

Georgia On My Mind:

Just For A Thrill:

Mississippi Mud:

Feel So Bad:

What'd I Say + Outro (if loading too slow, go directly to source):

Ray Charles At Constitution Hall (1982)

Before the concert Ray Charles
was honored by the NBMC
(from Billboard, November 20, 1982).

Yesterday, a reader of this blog* surprised me with a concert video titled Ray Charles At Constitution Hall. The source of his copy dated the concert in "1980", but the program can only be associated with a concert that took place in Washington D.C. on November 1, 1982.
The earliest air date that I've found was in December 1982, the last in November 1987.

The show was directed by Arthur Forrest, and was produced by TBS in cooperation with the National Black Media Coalition (an emancipatory organization that no longer exists). The dominantly African American audience, loudly (and visibly) showing their appreciation for the things taking place on stage, have given this concert recording a unique, interactive flavor.

The tunes that made it to the TV program (I think that, apart from the instrumentals by the Orchestra, also a few songs by Ray were left out of this edit) were:

1. Busted
2. Georgia On My Mind
3. Oh, What A Beautiful Morning
4. Just Because
5. You Don't Know Me
6. Love Is What We Need (ft Estella Yarbrough)
7. I Can't Stop Loving You
8. One Hurt Deserves Another (with The Raelettes, ft Trudy Cohran)
9. Some Enchanted Evening



Title card from the video.

10. What'd I Say (intro: Gonna Keep On Singin')

The ultra-soulful, super-slow rendition of You Don't Know Me stood out  in this set list, but the absolute climax of the concert was the performance of the tune One Hurt Deserves Another (a minor Raelettes hit from 1966, then making it to #76 on the Billboard Pop Chart and #24 on the R&B Chart).

Line-up**:
Musicians: Carmell Jones, Carlos Chavez, Brian Pearcy, Dean Congin - tp; John Boice, Dan Marcus, Mayo Tiana, Steve Davis - tb; Ricky Woodard, Brian Mitchell - as, Clifford Solomon, Rudy Johnson - ts, Leroy Cooper - bs; Ernest Vantrease - kb; Tony Matthews - g; Jeff Takiguchi - el-b; Rick Kirkland - dm. The Raelettes***: Trudy Cohran, Anne Johnson, Janice Mitchell, Elaine Woodard, Estella Yarbrough.

* Many thanks, once again, to Hector Tarín Nieto. **Info kindly provided by Dean Congin. *** Inferred from line-up at the Winter Park concert on September 4, 1982.

Ray Charles Live In Antibes (1982)

After almost two years of research for this blog, it's becoming increasingly rare to find video footage which is entirely new to me. But last week Hector Tarín Nieto, a young Ray Charles enthusiast from Valencia in Spain,  surprised me with the message that he had found a video with (parts of) the concert at the Antibes Jazz Festival, on July 20, 1982. The track list doesn't contain any big surprises, but the overall quality is good, and this concert's version of Just Because alone made it worthwhile to watch the program.

(Video still).

The title cards make it clear that the taping was directed by veteran Jean-Christophe Averty, and that the program was aired by France 1.
So far I haven't found a trace of the whereabouts of the source materials of this program.* It's not impossible that Averty, as he did in earlier instances, used the contents of the concert for two Ray Charles specials, and that the remainder of the concert has also survived in the INA vaults (four days later this was the setlist of a concert in the UK).

1. Let The Good Times Roll
2. Georgia On My Mind
3. Oh What A Beautiful Morning
4. Busted
5. Just Because**
6. Some Enchanted Evening

* France 1 was privatized in the 1980s, which is probably the reason why the program can't be found in the database of INA, the French public television and radio archive. Also see the comment to this post: it could be that this program was aired on October 26, 1984. ** In the video, in one of the funniest title corruptions ever, the tune is titled "Just A Bounce".

Ray Charles Live In Lloret De Mar (1990)

Still from the TV program.

On 20 April 1991 TVE2 broadcast a Ray Charles concert held the year before on 20 July, sponsored by the Casino in Lloret de Mar, at the Campo Municipal de Deportes (cf. this). The program was directed by P.P. Vila-San-Juan.
The copy that I saw had many sequences where the sound was slurring, but Brother Ray and the band were in good shape, and the program nicely captured the atmosphere of a typical mediterranean summer night concert during one of Ray's yearly Europe tours.

The show was simulcast over radio by RNE 3; a good copy has survived.

1. Intro
2. Riding Thumb
3. Busted
4. Georgia On My Mind
5. Mississippi Mud
6. Yours
7. Feel So Bad
8. If You Wouldn't Be My Lady
9. She Knows
10. Don't Set Me Free (ft Estella Yarbrough)
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. Knock On Wood (ft Trudy Cohran)
13. I Believe To My Soul
14. What'd I Say
15. Outro

Personnel:
Musicians: Chuck Parrish, Jeff Kaye, Jeff Helgesen, Kenny Rampton - trumpets; Steve Sigmund, Mike Guerrier, Marc Fields, Wayne Coniglio - trombones; Al Waters, Rudy Johnson, Al Jackson, Craig Baily, Scott Frillman - saxophones; David Rokeach - drums; Kenny Carr - guitar; Benoît Grey - bass; Ernest Vantrease - organ. The Raelettes: Trudy Cohran, Kay Nickerson, Lalomie Washburn, Angie Workman, Estella Yarbrough.

Update 25 November 2019: