Album guide
Salsa Jazz & Beethoven!
- Composers
- Rimsky-Korsakov; J.S. Bach; Chopin; Orff; Giazotto; de Falla; Rachmaninoff; Pachelbel; Beethoven
- Released
- 2021
- Label
- Richie Ray Music
- Forces
- Piano, Trumpet, Trombone, Vocal, Percussion
- Personnel
- Ricardo ‘Richie’ Ray piano and arrangements, Angie Ray vocals, Gerardo Rodríguez trumpet, Danny López trombone, Jerry Bravo bass, Richard Bravo congas, timbales and bongos, Kenny Quintero timbales, maracas and güiro
Richie Ray used the enforced pause of 2020 to pursue a long-held ambition away from his celebrated partnership with Bobby Cruz. He described salsa, jazz and classical music as the three ingredients of his musical identity, and wanted them to meet without sounding forced.
The production was more exacting than the album’s exuberance suggests. Ray moved between studios and tried four bassists while balancing live salsa percussion with sampled violins, flute, oboe and choir. The classical material becomes part of Ray’s own language rather than a layer placed on top.
Hear both
The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.
Track 7 is an original and has no classical recording, while track 10 names two separate classical sources and has one recording of each; every other track has one recording apiece.
Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.
Source works
The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.
- La Reina Abeja!Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tale of Tsar Saltan — Flight of the Bumblebee, in Rachmaninoff’s transcription
- Mi Amigo JuanJ.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Prelude No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847
- El Sonido BestialChopin: Étude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12 ‘Revolutionary’, in a medley with Ray’s own ‘El Sonido Bestial’
- Fantaisie ImpromptuChopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. 66
- ¡Oh! ¡Carmina!Orff: Carmina Burana — ‘O Fortuna’
- AdagioGiazotto: Adagio in G minor, issued as Albinoni’s
- Richie’s Jala JalaOriginal composition by Richie Ray
- La Danza del Fuegode Falla: El amor brujo — Danza ritual del fuego
- All by MyselfRachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto
- Love JourneyPachelbel: Canon in D major; Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 ‘Pathétique’: I. Grave — Allegro di molto e con brio