Big Black (percussionist)
Big Black (* 1934 in Savannah (Georgia) as Daniel Ray ) is an American percussionist of Latin and ethnic jazz .
Live and act
Big Black got this name from an older brother because of his interest in drums. After listening to the Conga in Cuban music on the radio during high school , he became interested in the instrument and traveled to Florida and the Bahamas , where he spent a total of five years. There he played with Lord Fleas Calypso Band, learned from Fish Ray and Johnny "Slick" Engraham and worked in the Calypso Eddy Trio and Sam Role. In Miami he worked with Jack Contanzo, Moe Koffman and the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra before founding a band with trumpeter Billy Cook and finding his own way of merging Caribbean and jazz rhythms.
In the 1960s he moved to New York City , where he played in the bands of Freddie Hubbard ( Night of the Cookers ) and Randy Weston , and also appeared with Ray Bryant , Johnny Barracuda, Junior Cook and Eric Dolphy . In 1965 it was presented in the Caribbean Pavilion of the World's Fair ; in the same year he performed with Dizzy Gillespie at the Newport Jazz Festival . He received a record deal and by 1972 had four albums of his own, some of which he also ventured into the field of African rhythms. He was also a member of the Butterfield Blues Band . He later also worked as an actor in supporting roles in films such as Uptown Saturday Night , Blazing Saddles and Minus Man . He continued to play with Sun Ra and BB King , but also recorded with Charles Tolliver and made music during Muhammad Ali's 1974 world championship match . In the 1990s he was the musical director of several projects by Randy Weston.
Discographic notes
- Message to our Ancestors (1967)
- Elements of Now (1968, Caiphus Semenya , Herman Riley , Curtis Peagler , Howard Johnson , Ray Draper , Maurice Spears, Charles Mallory, Leslie Hargrove, Ron Marshall, Stan Gilbert, Billy Moore)
- Lion Walk (1968)
- (If you're) Diggin 'what you're doin' (keep on doin 'what you're diggin') (1971)
- Big Black and the Blues (1972)
- Ethnic Fusion (1983, with Anthony Wheaton)
Web links
- Web presence
- Portrait at AllAboutJazz
- Big Black at Allmusic (English)
- Danny Big Black Rey in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Big Black |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ray, Daniel; Rey, Danny |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz percussionist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Savannah (Georgia) |