Ray Russell (musician)
Raymond "Ray" Russell (born April 4, 1947 in Islington ( London )) is a British pioneer of the fusion guitar, who has also emerged as a studio musician , composer and record producer .
Live and act
Russell, who had been playing guitar since he was twelve, became a professional musician as a member of the John Barry Seven at the age of sixteen . From 1965 he worked at Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames ; In 1968 he presented his debut album, Turn Circle . Then he worked in Mike Gibbs ' band and, with his own group, quickly released further albums with idiosyncratic compositions between jazz and rock music. With Alex Harvey , he led the group Rock Workshop and briefly belonged to Nucleus ( Live in Bremen ) in 1971 before co- founding Chopyn (with drummer Simon Phillips ) alongside Ann Odell . He was also part of Harry Beckett's band .
Together with Andy Mackay he played the theme music for the British television series Rock Follies . He also belonged temporarily to Stackridge and worked as a guitarist for Smith & D'Abo , but alongside Eric Clapton also under the title The Secret Policeman's Ball for charity events. Together with Mo Foster and Simon Phillips he formed the band RMS . With the British Orchestra he dedicated himself to the music of Gil Evans in the early 1980s , with whom he also performed at the 1983 Montreux Jazz Festival . In 1986 he appeared as Cliff Richard in the musical Time in London's West End .
In the studios he has worked for stars such as Tina Turner , Van Morrison , Art Garfunkel , Dionne Warwick , Bryan Ferry , Jack Bruce , Cat Stevens , Phil Collins and Robert Plant . As a composer he was mainly commissioned by British and American television and wrote for series such as A Touch of Frost , Jim Bergerac determined , Plain Jane , A Bit of a Do , The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries , Police Doctor Dangerfield and Grafters . He has received several awards for this work, including a. with the ASCAP Award for Most Popular Music on American Television and two awards from the Royal Television Society .
With Ralph Salmins , he founded the production company Made Up Music in 2008 , which produces albums with potential soundtracks. Together with Mo Foster and Ralph Salmins he gave seminars in British educational institutions; In 2007 he became visiting professor at the University of Leeds.
Discographic notes
- 1968 - Turn Circle (CBS)
- 1969 - Dragon Hill (CBS, with Roy Fry, Ron Mathewson , Alan Rushton and others)
- 1971 - June 11th 1971: Live at the ICA (RCA, with Tony Roberts, Harry Beckett, Daryl Runswick , Alan Rushton, Gary Windo and others)
- 1971 - Rites & Rituals (CBS, with Roberts, Beckett, Nick Evans , Runswick, Rushton)
- 1973 - Secret Asylum (Black Lion / Reel Recordings )
- 1990 - Guitars from Mars (Virgin)
- 2006 - Goodbye Svengali ( Cuneiform )
- 2020 - Spontaneous Event - Live 1967-69 , u. a. with Dave Holland
Lexigraphic entries
- John Chilton : Who's Who of British Jazz , Continuum International Publishing Group 2004, ISBN 0-8264-7234-6
Web links
- Web presence
- Ray Russell at Allmusic (English)
- Ray Russell in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ In addition to electric and acoustic guitar, he also plays guitar synthesizers
- ↑ RMS with Gil Evans Live at The Montreux Jazz Festival 1983 (AllAboutJazz)
- ↑ Made Up Music
- ↑ Review (AllAboutJazz.com)
- ^ BBC review by Goodbye Svengali
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Russell, Ray |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Russell, Raymond |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British fusion guitarist and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Islington ( London ) |