Just Between Us (1988)

Visible on this album cover:
Robbie Kwock and John Boice
(from c. 1984). 

1. Nothing Like A Hundred Miles (with B.B. King)
2. I Wish I'd Never Loved You At All (with Gladys Knight) 
3. Too Hard To Love You (with Jim Johnson)
4. Now I Don't Believe That Anyone
5. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
6. Stranger In My Own Hometown (with Kenny Carr) 
7. Over The Top
8. I'd Walk A Little More For You
9. If That's What' Cha Want
10. Save The Bones For Henry Jones (with Lou Rawls and Milt Jackson)

Ray came back home (from Nashville) to record with his own band in his own RPM studio (but without The Raelettes), also inviting some old friends to join in. Arrangements by Marty Paich, Quincy Jones, Ralph Burns and Ray Charles. The trumpet dubs (and possibly the bones too) for track #10 were recorded on 31 December 1987 or on 1 January 1988. Track #6 was arranged by James Polk.*

Ray originally meant to produce track #10 with B.B. King. In 2005 King recalled: "The first time I recorded with him, he wanted me to do Save The Bones For Henry Jones. Ray wanted to change it; he didn't want to do it the way it was written... I could never get it right. And he said to me, 'God damn, Brother B, I thought you was a musician!'"
Milt Jackson later revealed that Ray wanted so bad to feature him on his album that he had erased the taping of his own piano playing, making room for Milt to overdub his vibes solo.*   

Personnel**:
Mark Curry, Jeff Helgesen, Ted Murdock, Jeff Kaye - trumpets; Mike Christianson, Armin Marmolejo, Steve Sigmund, Charlie Schofner - trombones; Al Jackson, Chris Lega, Ricky Woodard, Rudy Johnson, Leroy Cooper - saxophones; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards; Kenny Carr - guitar; Anders Swanson - bass; Paul Kreibich - drums.

Album: Columbia 40703, September 1988.

Listen here to Nothing Like A Hundred Miles (With B.B. King).



Save The Bones For Henry Jones (with Lou Rawls and Milt Jackson): here.

* Info kindly shared by Joël Dufour. ** Info kindly provided by Steve Sigmund and Jeff Helgesen.