Ray Anderson (musician)

Ray Robert Anderson ( born October 16, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American jazz trombonist. He has a distinctive style of play snotty and is known for his witty compositions. He was consecutively elected by the critics of Down Beat magazine five years for the best trumpet players of our time.

Life and work

Anderson was born on October 16, 1952 in Chicago. His parents were theologians, and his first contact with the Jazz was the Dixieland record collection of his father. In particular, the trombonist Vic Dickenson and Trummy Young impressed him as a child very much. In fourth grade he started playing together with his classmate George Lewis valve trombone. As a teenager he was strongly influenced by the music of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM ) and James Brown, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix.

In the early 1970s he lived for a short time in San Francisco, where he played with members of the progressive jazz scene. Especially the drummer Charles Moffett and Stanley Crouch thereby influenced him greatly. End of 1972, Anderson moved to New York. From a wider audience but was perceived only in the late 1970s, when he played in the bands of Anthony Braxton ( 1978-1981 ) and Barry Altschul ( 1978-1980 ) and was involved in recordings. With Braxton ( Moers Festival 1978), Altschul, and later with the trio of Bennie Wallace and his own bands, he attended every year since that time, first European festivals.

In 1981, Anderson co-founded the band Slickaphonics, which was known for its witty avant- funk. In Slickaphonics he not only played trombone, but was also the lead singer. Also in the 1980s, he co-founded with bassist Mark Helias and drummer Gerry Hemingway trio, which took its name from the second plate 1985 BassDrumBone. The trio played mostly compositions by Anderson.

Since the mid- 1990s, Ray Anderson founded repeatedly successful band projects like The Alligatory Band, The Lapis Lazuli band, Slide Ride ( trombone quartet along with Craig Harris, George Lewis and Gary Valente ) or The Pocket Brass Band. In 2000, he was also a member of the band Super Trombone Jim Pugh ( with Dave Bargeron and Dave Taylor). In addition to many private recordings Anderson can also be heard over and over again as a soloist in other bands. The most popular are the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, the New York Composers Orchestra and the Vienna Art Orchestra. He was also with Dr. John, Luther Allison, Christy Doran, Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Barbara Dennerlein, Klaus König, John Scofield and Paul van Kemenade go.

In addition, Anderson also plays Sousaphone, for example, on his album Bonemeal and in the group of singer Erika Stucky.

Game style

Ray Anderson maintains an expressive sassy style of play despite a more coherent game ( multiphonics ). He sat thus deliberately a counterpoint to the polished style of play of other trombonists such as Jay Jay Johnson, Albert Mangelsdorff or very extreme Bill Watrous. Ray Anderson is also known for his witty compositions and solos. He explores all the possibilities of the trombone, by not only the entire jazz tradition of his instrument uses, but also relies on noise. In his piece rap for Nap, which he wrote for the band Gruntz Concert, he manages, for example, to play his trumpet so that it sounds like scratching a record.

Discography

Recordings under his own name

• Harrisburg Half Life ( Moers, 1980)
• Old Bottles, New Wine ( Enja, 1985)
• It Just So Happens ( Enja, 1987)
• Blues Bred in the Bone ( Enja, 1988)
• What Because ( Gramavision, 1989)
• Wishbone ( Gramavision, 1991)
• Big Band Record Performed By George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band ( Gramavision, 1994)
• Bonemeal ( Raybone Music, 2000)

Recording with his own bands

• Slickaphonics: Modern Life ( Enja, 1982)
• Slickaphonics: Wow Bag ( Enja, 1983)
• Slickaphonics: Humatonic Energy ( Blue Heron Records, 1985)
• Slickaphonics: Live ( Teldec 1987)
• BassDrumBone Right Down Your Alley ( Soul Note, 1984)
• BassDrumBone You Be (1985 )
• BassDrumBone Wooferlo ( Soul Note, 1987)
• BassDrumBone HENCE the Reason ( Enja, 1996)
• BassDrumBone March of Dimes (1997)
• Ray Anderson Alligatory Band: Do not Mow Your Lawn ( Enja, 1994)
• Ray Anderson Alligatory Band: Heads and Tales ( Enja, 1995)
• Ray Anderson, Han Bennink, Christy Doran: Azurety ( Hat Art, 1994)
• Ray Anderson, Han Bennink, Christy Doran: Cheer Up ( Hat Art, 1995)
• Ray Anderson, Craig Harris, George Lewis, Gary Valente: Slide Ride ( Hat Hut, 1994)
• Ray Anderson Lapis Lazuli Band: Funkorific ( Enja, 1998)
• Ray Anderson Pocket Brass Band: Where Home Is ( Enja, 1998)
• Mark Dresser & Ray Anderson: Nine Songs Together ( CIMP, 2003)

Recordings as a sideman

• D. D. Jackson Paired Down ( 1997)