The Ray Charles Project @ The Sofia

Description

• Visit Website

Facebook: here

In tribute to the genius of Ray Charles, a swinging septet of outstanding Bay Area musicians offers their take on some of the highlights from Ray’s amazing songbook.

Glenn Walters sang lead for two sensational Bay Area bands, the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils and the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra. The San Francisco Examiner called his voice “as warm, furry and comforting as a mink coat. You just wanna wrap it around you.”

David K. Mathews has been playing keyboards professionally since 1975. After playing with Tower of Power for two years, he toured for a decade with the Queen of Rhythm and Blues, Etta James, and is currently the keyboard player for Santana. He’s played on Late Night with David Letterman, Austin City Limits, Dancing with the Stars, and the Tonight Show – the Johnny Carson version and the Jay Leno edition – and worked with a Who’s Who of musical greats, including Toots Thielman, Bonnie Raitt, Vassar Clements, the Gypsy Kings, and John McLaughlin.

Blues guitarist extraordinaire Chris Cain grew up in San Jose, studied music at San Jose City College, and over the next twenty years learned his way around clarinet, piano, bass guitar, and alto and tenor saxophone, not to mention developing fierce vocal chops. He’s played with such greats as Albert King and Albert Collins, Johnny Otis and Junior Wells, Boz Scaggs and Willie Nelson, and recorded ten solo albums, including his latest, So
Many Miles, which the Chicago Blues Guide calls “a delicious blend of blues laced with jazz and rock.”

Bassist DeWayne Pate graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, moved north, and has since worked with an array of top Artists including Huey Lewis and the News, Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur, Robben Ford, and Arturo Sandoval. He’s also a columnist for Bassics Magazine, and his instructional video, The Art of Tapping, his been widely popular. Reviewer Andrew Gilbert called his album Melting Pot “an impressive array of grooves.”

Deszon Claiborne has worked with blues great Charles Brown and is the dynamic drummer for Clockwork and the Tammy Hall Trio.

Tony Lindsay has 11 Grammy awards on his mantel after spending two decades as lead singer of Santana, and has recorded with such artists as Patti Austin, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and Steve Winwood. He moved from Albany, New York to San Jose in 1980, worked at Guitar Center, and joined the Danny Hull Quintet, which later adopted the name Spang-a-Lang. His friend Chester Thompson invited him to audition for Santana, and overnight he went from playing small clubs to huge amphitheaters.

Join these musical dynamos in a tribute to the genius of soul and blues, Ray Charles.

EVENT WEBSITE: HERE

Find other events tagged under:

Event Categories

• Music & Nightlife