Ray Anderson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Ray Anderson is an independent jazz
trombone
and trumpet
player. Anderson is a boisterous trombonist who is masterful at multiphonics. Trained by the Chicago Symphony trombonists, he is regarded as pushing the limits of the instrument. He is a contemporary and colleague of trombonist/composer George Lewis
. Anderson also plays Sousaphone
and sings.
's Quartet (replacing George Lewis
) and started working with Barry Altschul
's group. From this point forward he started ranking high in polls and becoming influential himself. In addition to leading his own groups since the late '70s (including the funk-oriented Slickaphonics), Anderson has worked with George Gruntz
's Concert Jazz Band. In the '90s, he began taking an occasional good-humored vocal, during which he shows the ability to sing two notes at the same time (a minor third apart).
The prolific Anderson also has demonstrated his special supportive skills on a remarkably wide assortment of albums by David Murray
, Charlie Haden
's Liberation Music Orchestra
, Dr. John
, Luther Allison
, Bennie Wallace
, Gerry Hemingway
, Henry Threadgill
, John Scofield
, Roscoe Mitchell
, Randy Sandke
's Inside Out Band, Sam Rivers
' Rivbea Orchestra, Bobby Previte
and others. Anderson is also a member of Jim Pugh
's Super Trombone with Dave Bargeron
and Dave Taylor. He also received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
for a series of solo trombone concerts.
While pushing his sound into the future, Anderson has frequently returned to his early love of New Orleans music for inspiration. His Alligatory Band as well as his Pocket Brass Band, featuring tuba great Bob Stewart
, are rooted in its tradition.
Since 2003 he has taught and conducted at Stony Brook University.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
player. Anderson is a boisterous trombonist who is masterful at multiphonics. Trained by the Chicago Symphony trombonists, he is regarded as pushing the limits of the instrument. He is a contemporary and colleague of trombonist/composer George Lewis
George Lewis (trombonist)
George E. Lewis is a trombone player, composer, and scholar in the fields of jazz and experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians since 1971, and is a pioneer of computer music.- Biography :Lewis graduated from Yale University with a...
. Anderson also plays Sousaphone
Sousaphone
The sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the musician and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried...
and sings.
Biography
After spending study time in California, he moved to New York in 1973 and freelanced. In 1977, Anderson joined Anthony BraxtonAnthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
's Quartet (replacing George Lewis
George Lewis (trombonist)
George E. Lewis is a trombone player, composer, and scholar in the fields of jazz and experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians since 1971, and is a pioneer of computer music.- Biography :Lewis graduated from Yale University with a...
) and started working with Barry Altschul
Barry Altschul
Barry Altschul is a free jazz drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.-Biography:...
's group. From this point forward he started ranking high in polls and becoming influential himself. In addition to leading his own groups since the late '70s (including the funk-oriented Slickaphonics), Anderson has worked with George Gruntz
George Gruntz
George Gruntz is a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Mel Lewis.From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for...
's Concert Jazz Band. In the '90s, he began taking an occasional good-humored vocal, during which he shows the ability to sing two notes at the same time (a minor third apart).
The prolific Anderson also has demonstrated his special supportive skills on a remarkably wide assortment of albums by David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...
, Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
's Liberation Music Orchestra
Liberation Music Orchestra
Liberation Music Orchestra is a jazz album by Charlie Haden, released in 1969 . It was Haden's first album as leader.The inspiration for the album came when Haden heard songs from the Spanish Civil War...
, Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, Luther Allison
Luther Allison
Luther Allison was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family, at age twelve, to Chicago in 1951. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being...
, Bennie Wallace
Bennie Wallace
Bennie Wallace is an American post bop, swing music and jazz tenor saxophonist born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, probably better known for his work with Monty Alexander and Sheila Jordan during the 1970s. He settled in New York in 1971 and played with Barry Harris, Buddy Rich, Dannie Richmond...
, Gerry Hemingway
Gerry Hemingway
Gerry Hemingway is an American jazz composer and percussionist.He has performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Ray Anderson, Mark Helias, Reggie Workman, Michael Moore, Oliver Lake, Marilyn Crispell, Christy Doran, John Wolf Brennan, Don...
, Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
, John Scofield
John Scofield
John Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
, Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
, Randy Sandke
Randy Sandke
Randy Sandke is a jazz trumpeter and guitarist.In an interview with Larry Kart he said: "I got into jazz kind of chronologically, beginning with Bix and Louis, then Dizzy, Clifford Brown, Miles, and Freddie Hubbard. I also studied at Roosevelt University with Renold Schilke, a legendary teacher...
's Inside Out Band, Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers
Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
' Rivbea Orchestra, Bobby Previte
Bobby Previte
Robert "Bobby" Previte is a drummer, composer and bandleader. Previte earned a B.A. in Economics at the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979, and became active in the city's thriving jazz and experimental music scenes...
and others. Anderson is also a member of Jim Pugh
James E. Pugh
James Edward Pugh is a trombonist, composer, and educator. He is noted as the lead trombonist with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd and Chick Corea's Return to Forever Band . For 25 years, he worked as a freelance trombonist in New York City...
's Super Trombone with Dave Bargeron
Dave Bargeron
David 'Dave' W Bargeron is an American trombonist and tuba player from Athol, Massachusetts, most famous for playing with the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat, and Tears. He joined the group in 1970, after Jerry Hyman departed, and first appeared on the album Blood, Sweat & Tears 4...
and Dave Taylor. He also received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
for a series of solo trombone concerts.
While pushing his sound into the future, Anderson has frequently returned to his early love of New Orleans music for inspiration. His Alligatory Band as well as his Pocket Brass Band, featuring tuba great Bob Stewart
Bob Stewart (tuba)
Bob Stewart in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. is a freelance concert artist, educator, and studio musician. He received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and his Masters in Education from Lehman College Graduate School. Stewart taught music...
, are rooted in its tradition.
Since 2003 he has taught and conducted at Stony Brook University.
Selected discography
- Ray Anderson: Harrisburg Half Life (Moers, 1980)
- Slickaphonics: Humatonic Energy (Blue Heron Records, 1985)
- BassDrumBone: Wooferlo (Soul Note, 1987)
- Ray Anderson: What Because (Gramavision, 1989)
- Ray Anderson: Wishbone (Gramavision, 1991)
- Ray Anderson: Every One Of Us (Gramavision, 1992)
- Ray Anderson Alligatory Band: Don't Mow Your Lawn (Enja, 1994)
- Ray Anderson / Craig HarrisCraig S. Harris (trombonist)Craig S. Harris is a Jazz trombonist and composer who has been a major figure in the jazz avant-garde movement since his stint with Sun Ra in 1976. Subsequently, Harris has worked with such notable jazz artists as Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal...
/ George Lewis / Gary ValenteGary ValenteGary Valente is a notable jazz trombone player.Valente was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and studied at New England Conservatory of Music with John Coffey and Jaki Byard....
: Slideride (Hat Hut, 1994) - Ray Anderson / Han BenninkHan BenninkHan Bennink is a Dutch jazz drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured his playing on clarinet, violin, banjo and piano....
/ Christy Doran : Azurety (Hat Art, 1994) - Ray Anderson / Han BenninkHan BenninkHan Bennink is a Dutch jazz drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured his playing on clarinet, violin, banjo and piano....
/ Christy Doran : Cheer Up (Hat Art, 1995) - Ray Anderson Pocket Brass Band: Where Home Is (Enja, 1998)
- Ray Anderson: Bonemeal (Raybone Music, 2000)
- Bobby Previte & Bump: Just Add Water (Palmetto, 2001)
- Ray Anderson / Ibrahim Electric: Ibrahim Electric Meets Ray Anderson (Sundance, 2005)