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Ray Drummond

Composer, arranger, bandleader, educator and producer are hats that bassist RAY DRUMMOND has worn well over the past 30 years. But it all comes down to one thing: musician Ray Drummond likes to make great music. Born the son of an Army colonel on November 23, 1946 in Brookline, Massachusetts, he attended 14 different schools around the world. Drummond's musical journey began at age eight with the trumpet, then French horn. Though, early on he developed a love of jazz and taught himself listening to the music of jazz masters. It wasn't until he was 14 years old that his music director persuaded him to play the bass. Ultimately, his family settled in California, where Drummond earned a B.A. in Political Science, and attended Stanford Business School.

While living in the San Francisco area, he worked with Bobby Hutcherson (that collaboration continues to this day), Michael White, Martha Young (Lester's Niece), Ed Kelly, Tom Harrell, and Eddie Marshall. In 1977, he left the corporate life behind in California, and moved to New York City where he quickly became a first call bassist. His solid rhythmic and harmonic innovations landed him gigs with artists including Betty Carter, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Woody Shaw, Hank Jones, Jon Faddis, Milt Jackson, Johnny Griffin, Kenny Barron, Pharoah Sanders, and George Coleman. Additionally, he has been documented on over 300 recordings with artists including Art Framer, David Murray, Houston Person, Stan Getz, Kenny Burrell, Kevin Mahogany, Toots Thielemans, Benny Golson, and Ray Bryant. In addition to working with jazz legends, Drummond also records and performs live with a diverse number of emerging artists including Joe Locke, Steve Wilson, Paul Bollenback, Jessica Williams, Rob Schneiderman and Jeanie Bryson.

Not one to be content always sitting in the sideman's seat, Drummond has led his own groups for the past 29 years. As leader, he has accumulated eight recordings under his own name, and three additional ones as a co-leader. Robert Hicks of the Villager writes, "apart from his exceptional intonation, dark melodies and witty rhythmical sensibility, what separates Drummond from other bassists is his abilities as bandleader and composer." As a composer, his music is steeped in the tradition of jazz and its roots, with a blending of African inspirations, and modal moods. Says Drummond, "I'm trying to answer the question of what would have happened if we hadn't gone through the Afro-Cuban experience. What if the African influence went directly to New York and New Orleans?" As a bandleader, he surrounds himself with musicians who he knows will fit into his music, and allows them to exploit the way they play. "My approach is the single-minded, Miles Davis theory of band leading." His three main groups are "Excursion" which features David Sanchez, Craig Handy, Stephen Scott, Mor Thiam and Billy Hart; The Quartet with Billy Hart, Stephen Scott and Craig Handy; and "One To One" with Bill Mays. Additionally, he co-leads The Drummonds, featuring Billy Drummond and Renee Rosnes.

Frank Tiberi, Joe Lovano and George Garzone: Tiberian Mode

Read "Tiberian Mode" reviewed by Jim Worsley

by Jim Worsley
May 7, 2020

While the three tenor saxophone soloists with piano, bass, and drums was already a proven sextet formula, the Tiberian Mode is one of vast reproportioning and accelerated creativity. Led by big band divinity Frank Tiberi and two of his disciples, George Garzone, and Joe Lovano, the project unleashes power, vigor, and contrasting jazz sensibilities. Attention is piqued even before listening when you learn that the first song is the first and last section of John Coltrane's “Giant Steps" ...

263

Album Review

Jackie Ryan: Doozy

by Larry Taylor
November 4, 2009

This two-CD set is vocalist Jackie Ryan's third recording and it's definitely a keeper. On the heels of her 2007 success, You And The Night And The Music (Open Art Productions), which landed on the charts, also appears destined for success.

With her clear, rich voice, Ryan undoubtedly has one of jazz's great vocal instruments--no low-note warble or reedy high notes for her and with a 3-1/2 octave range, she handles each song with aplomb. In addition, she has a ...

286

Album Review

Tim Armacost: Brightly Dark

Read "Brightly Dark" reviewed by Alexander M. Stern

by Alexander M. Stern
October 7, 2003

The ghost of John Coltrane hovers over Brightly Dark. At times, Tim Armacost sounds startlingly like the late saxophonist, especially when he plays soprano, as he does on 'Afro Pentameter' and on the title track. Armacost is an extremely talented musician and an excellent composer, but he is still somewhat lacking in originality. Not that anyone can blame him for choosing to emulate Coltrane. In a scene from Woody Allen's Manhattan, Allen is told by an angry friend that he ...

286

Album Review

Benny Golson Quintet: That's Funky

Read "That's Funky" reviewed by AAJ Staff

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

Looking back past the rule of Parliament to the age of Horace Silver, Benny Golson’s That's Funky pays tribute to Louis Armstrong through two renditions of his popular favorite “Mack the Knife." While the opening “funky version" starts off a bit sluggish and includes some pinched soloing by Nat Adderley, Monty Alexander’s firm comps make it swing and Golson’s smooth lines give it at least three pennies worth of class. On the “modern bebop version," Adderley’s lines are much more ...

178

Album Review

Tim Armacost: The Wishing Well

Read "The Wishing Well" reviewed by Joel Roberts

by Joel Roberts
June 1, 2000

A quick look at his bio, and a quick listen to his accomplished new release on Double-Time Records, makes clear that 37-year-old Tim Armacost is no run-of-the-mill tenor saxophonist. A well-travelled, broadly educated New Yorker (via L.A., Washington, Tokyo, Amsterdam and India), Armacost draws heavily on the Coltrane and Rollins legacies, but has enough fresh musical ideas and sheer instrumental muscle to avoid falling into the trap of mere hero worship.

Armacost begins the proceedings here with a lush, leisurely ...

143

Album Review

Tim Armacost: The Wishing Well

Read "The Wishing Well" reviewed by AAJ Staff

by AAJ Staff
June 1, 2000

In order to play true jazz, a musician needs to assimilate all that went before him, paying particular attention to those artists who charted the course and defined the vernacular for the specific instrument that he has set out to master. In music, nothing ever gets pulled out of thin air. You carry forth a linage, and hopefully along the way, through intense study and careful examination, you can extend that lineage by putting your own fingerprint on what you ...

378

Album Review

Benny Golson Funky Quintet: That’s Funky

Read "That’s Funky" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
April 1, 2000

Part 1: Way Back When. I had a colleague that always insisted that the Creedence Clearwater Revival’s recording Green River sounded better on vinyl than remastered for compact disc. I compared the two and I found this to be true, but probably not for any sonic reasons. Analog recordings are almost always warmer and rounder than their digital counterparts. There is something about that slightly “muddy” sound (and if you are wondering what I mean by that, listen to the ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ray Drummond

Source: Michael Ricci
November 23, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Ray Drummond's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Ray Drummond

Source: Michael Ricci
November 23, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Ray Drummond's birthday today!

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Festival

Sunnyside Releases Kenny Barron's "Live At Bradley's" With Ray Drummond and Ben Riley

Source: All About Jazz

For more than twenty-five years Bradley's, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, was the home and headquarters of New York City's Jazz community, the place where musicians regularly congregated after their gigs or on their nights off, to have a drink, listen to their peers and hear the latest news of jazz from around the world. Ostensibly, just another of the great city's many piano bars, the proliferation of great players, particularly piano players, in the club, created a ...
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