Ray Starling

Ray Starling (born January 4, 1933 in London , † May 15, 1982 in Arizona ) was a British jazz musician ( trumpet , mellophone , piano ), arranger and composer living in the United States .

Starling performed in a duo with his wife, singer Jo Lea Starling, in the late 1950s. In 1960 he worked with Peter Appleyard ( Percussive Jazz ) and from 1961 as lead mellophonist with Stan Kenton ( Adventures in Jazz , 1961), for whom he also worked as an arranger and wrote mellophobia . In the 1960s he was also a member of the Buddy Rich Bigband and played a. a. with Kai Winding ( The Great Kai & JJ 1960), Ray Eberle , Claude Thornhill , Johnny Richards ( Adventures in Time ) and Anthony Ortega ( Jazz for Young Moderns ).

After leaving the Kenton Orchestra, Ray and Jo Lea Starling formed a four-piece vocal group called The Starlings , which performed in the Sheraton hotels and for which Ray Starling wrote the arrangements. These were also played by the Bob Cleveland Orchestra, which included Ray as a musician and Jo Lea Starling as the band vocalist. In 1971 the couple separated; Ray Starling died in May 1982 at the age of 49 of complications from cancer.

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personal data
SURNAME	Starling, Ray
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British jazz musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 4, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH	London
DATE OF DEATH	May 15, 1982
Place of death	Arizona