1997 personnel: Ted Murdock, Roger Ingram, David Hoffman, Ken Scharf - trumpets; Mike Guerrier, Steve Sigmund, Clay Lawrey, Wayne Coniglio - trombones; Al Waters, Al Jackson, Steve Elliott, Rudy Johnson, James Farnsworth - saxophone; Kenny Carr - guitar; Tom Fowler - bass; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards; Peter Turre - drums.
Solo's by Wayne Coniglio - tb, David Hoffman - tp.
Several performances have been issued on DVD (see below).
Remarkably, The Genius never recorded this instrumental in the studio. Manufacturers of electric pianos must have loved him, though, for repeatedly demonstrating all possibilities of their gear in a live setting.
Ray took Oscar Peterson's composition, and - with his obvious consent - added an intro taken from Nat King Cole's Sweet Lorraine.
Dick Cavett Show, 1972:
Album DVD: Ray Charles Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival, November 2004; DVD/CD: Geneon/Pioneer B000667GDM, November 2004; DVD: SHE B0000648YH, June 2006; DVD: Eagle Rock B000VZBCVU, October 2007; Blu Ray DVD: Eagle Rock B001JL2V2E, December 2008.
In an earlier article on this tune I presented it as an unidentified instrumental. I wrote that "In many sources, funnily, this track is mis-titled as I Don't Know. In one other as Mr. Ray Charles, which doesn't seem probable either... Who knows the title of this composition?"
The answer came from the composer, Ray Charles Orchestra veteran trumpeter (1991 - 1995, 1997 - 2004) David Hoffman: "Its real name is Forty Pound Limit."
In an additional comment he shared the whole funny story: "Our suitcases were limited to 40 pounds, and [...] I was carrying around a lot of manuscript paper, because I wrote a lot on the road. I was pissed and wrote a tune I called Forty Pound Limit in honor of the rule. Ray heard the tune and liked it and asked me the name. I didn't want to ruffle any feathers right then, so I said, I don't know. Ray (with his patented arms across his chest move said 'I Don't Know. THAT'S it... I Don't Know!'"
The Ray Charles Orchestra had a repertoire of approximately 500 (some say: up to 700) tunes. The charts were numbered, and were carried around in a huge chest that traveled with the band. Deciding on a setlist was just a matter of jotting down the corresponding numbers, and then distributing the corresponding charts. When Ray changed his mind during the concert, he just shouted out the alternative number(s) of the tunes (you sometimes can hear him do that in some of the concerts on this blog). Since all orchestra members were supposed to learn these tune numbers by heart, it was easy to communicate such changes.
Hoffman reveals, "Ray rarely remembered titles of instrumentals, though, which is probably why he didn't cite the title in the interview [see the second clip, below, BS]. To him, it was #500 (I think). I have forgotten a lot of the numbers now. I used to have them all memorized, as we all did. In fact, it would help you remember your hotel room sometimes. If you were in room 239, it was the GeorgiaSuite."
Personnel*: Ted Murdock, Roger Ingram, David Hoffman, Ken Scharf - trumpets; Mike Guerrier, Steve Sigmund, Clay Lawrey, Wayne Coniglio - trombones; Al Waters, Al Jackson, Steve Elliott, Rudy Johnson, James Farnsworth - saxophone; Kenny Carr - guitar; Tom Fowler - bass; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards; Peter Turre - drums.
*Corrections on DVD's liner notes kindly provided by Steve Sigmund.
The concert in Montreux on July 19th, 1997 is one of the best documented shows of the Ray Charles group. The concert was videotaped with 7 or 8 cameras, the sound recording had studio quality, and the show's director didn't miss a beat, editing an entirely relevant final montage of luscious close-ups and wider shots.
All music footage seems to have survived, including all four instrumentals that were played by the Ray Charles Orchestra that night.* (Only circulating among fans, there's even a few minutes of documentary video of the stage preparations).
The Blu-ray editionof the concert (Eagle Rock, 2008) has a unique interview with Ray, where he comments on all tracks that were part of the basic edition. As a second bonus this rare DVD also presents three more instrumentals by the Ray Charles Orchestra:
1. Just Friends (solos by Steve Elliott, Ken Scharf)
2. Beatrice (solos by Wayne Coniglio, David Hoffman)
3. Pas-Se-O-Ne Blues (solos by Rudy Johnson, David Hoffman, Ken Scharf)
#1, Just Friends arranged by Bob Florence.
#2, Beatrice arranged by Wayne Coniglio).
# 3, Pas-Se-O-Ne Blues, was first taped for the album My Kind Of Jazz (1970), but this remains the only known live recording. The beautiful solo by Rudy Johnson on Pas-Se-O-Ne is essential jazz history. Johnson played with the band for a quarter of a century, but precious few of his solos have been captured on video.
Musicians:
Ted Murdock, Roger Ingram, David Hoffman, Ken Scharf - trumpets; Mike Guerrier, Steve Sigmund, Clay Lawrey, Wayne Coniglio - trombones; Al Waters, Al Jackson, Steve Elliott, Rudy Johnson, James Farnsworth - saxophones; Kenny Carr - guitar; Tom Fowler - bass; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards; Peter Turre - drums.
*The 4th instrumental was David Hoffman's Forty Pound Limit, which was part of the basic DVD release; see this.
Forty Pound Limit (aka I Don't Know) (Ray Charles Orchestra) 00:12
Intro 4:50
Then We'll Be Home (Sadies Tune) 5:25
Busted 09:40
Georgia On My Mind 11:15
Mississippi Mud 17:10
Just For A Thrill 20:05
You Made Me Love You 26:55
Angelina 29:50
Blues For Big Scotia 35:25
A Song For You 39:25
Do It To Me Slow [Raelettes intro] 45:25
Watch Them Dogs 46:05
Shadows Of My Mind (ft Karen Evans) 50:30
Smack Dab In The Middle 56:20
I Can't Stop Loving You 59:00
People Will Say We're In Love 63: 40
What'd I Say 66:35
Outro 70:20
This concert was filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Stravinski Auditorium) on July 19, 1997. DVD bonus features include a text bio and timeline. The highlight is the voice over track by the man himself, in which he offers anecdotes from the past, insight into specific songs, and a healthy dose of humor and soul. The Blu-Ray version of the DVD has 3 instrumental bonus tracks featuring the Ray Charles Orchestra:
1. Just Friends (solos by Steve Elliott, Ken Scharf)
2. Beatrice (solos by Wayne Coniglio [arr.], David Hoffman)
3. Passeone Blues (solos by Rudy Johnson, David Hoffman, Ken Scharf).
The Concert Database of the Montreux Jazz Festival gives the whole setlist with the original duration of all (obviously un-edited) songs, and specifies the line-up.
Joël Dufour and Steve Sigmund helped me to correct some omissions and misspellings.
Personnel:Musicians: Ted Murdock, Roger Ingram, David Hoffman, Ken Scharf - trumpet; Mike Guerrier, Steve Sigmund, Clay Lawrey, Wayne Coniglio - trombone; Al Waters, Al Jackson, Steve Elliott, Rudy Johnson, James Farnsworth - saxophone; Kenny Carr - guitar; Tom Fowler - bass; Ernest Vantrease - keyboards; Peter Turre - drums. The Raelettes (f.l.t.r.): Estella Yarbrough, Katrina Harper Cooke, Kathy Mackey, Karen Evans, Tonette McKinney.
Read this for the identification of the tune Forty Pound Limit.
2004-11 DVD/CD, Geneon [Pioneer] B000667GDM.
2006-06 DVD, SHE B0000648YH.
2007-10 DVD, Eagle Rock B000VZBCVU.
2008-12 Blu Ray, Eagle Rock B001JL2V2E.
And below is the basic concert as it was issued on DVD. The connectivity of this website isn't too good. If the stream loads too slow, it sometimes helps to go directly to the source.
Interview Comments On Montreux 1997:
[Currently not available on the web, BS].
"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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