User:RayReach

ABOUT RAY REACH

Born Raymond E. Reach, Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama, Ray is a pianist, vocalist, guitarist, arranger, composer, music producer and music educator. From 1997 through 2005, Ray was Instructor of Music and Director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Jazz Ensemble. He is currently (since 2005) Director of Student Jazz Programs at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Ray is known and respected for his work in Pop, Rock, Classic Rock, R & B, Soul, Motown, Classical and Jazz, and is perhaps best known for his work in the Jazz idiom.

Musical Education

Ray studied piano from an early age, beginning at age 6, with Giula Williams of E. E. Forbes and Sons Piano Company in Birmingham ans later, with Carolyn Pfau and Hugh Thomas at the Birmingham Conservatory of Music. In 1966, Ray graduated Minor High School near Birmingham, Alabama. He attended undergraduate school as a music major at Birmingham-Southern College, later persuing graduate music studies at the University of Montevallo and the University of Alabama, among others. At Birmingham-Southern, he studied voice with renowned New York City Opera baritone Andrew Gainey, and studied piano with Sam Howard of the Julliard-trained concert piano duo, Hodgens and Howard. From 1977 to 1980, at the University of Alabama, he served as graduate assistant to noted jazz to educator Steve Sample, where he directed the award winning Jazz Ensemble B. While attending the University of Alabama, ASCAP presented Ray with the Raymond Hubbell Musical Scholarship, for his contributions to jazz and popular music in America.

Jazz Educator, Performer and Leader

Ray has been active as a jazz educator since the early 1970s, jazz courses and computer music (MIDI) courses and workshops at numerous colleges, including Cedar Valley College (Dallas, Texas), Birmingham-Southern College, the University of Montevallo (Montevallo, Alabama), the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Alabama), the University of North Texas (Denton, Texas) and others. From 1998 to 2005, Ray taught music technology and directed the UAB Jazz Ensemble at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is currently (2005 - present) Director of Student Jazz Programs for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. He has been a faculty member of the W.C. Handy Jazz Camp, a regular featured performer at the W. C. Handy Music Festival and a member of theW. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars. In addition, he directs the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Student All-Star Band and the  "Fun With Jazz" Educational Program, which was originated through the Alys Stephens Center for the Performing Arts, and is now offered through the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Also, Ray directs two orchestras, both of which he founded:  the Magic City Jazz Orchestra, a recording and concert group, and (2) the Ray Reach Orchestra, a dance band in the tradition of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra. Another musical direction, Contemporary Jazz, is explored by Ray's new ensemble, Magic City Nu-Jazz.

    Work in Music Technology

    Ray has worked with synthesizers and computer-produced music since 1969, when he purchased his first Mini Moog synthesizer. Following the introduction of MIDI, he worked in research and development for Systems Design Associates, Inc., makers of MIDI music software. Later, he co-founded the American MIDI Users Group (AMUG), which was based at the Dallas Infomart.

Work as a Performer, Arranger and Producer

A list of noted musicians with which Ray has produced and/or recorded and performed includes: jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, jazz trumpeter Jack Sheldon, jazz Mike Williams (lead trumpeter for the Count Basie Orchestra), trumpeter Leonard Candelaria (noted classical trumpeter and educator), singer Al Jarreau, singer Natalie Cole, saxophonist "Blue Lou" Marini, pianist Ellis Marsalis, Count Basie bassist Cleveland Eaton, jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton, jazz vibraphonist/drummer Chuck Redd, jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe, guitarist Lloyd Wells, guitarist Howard Paul (CEO of Benedetto Guitars, Inc.), jazz drummer and producer Bill Goodwin, jazz trumpeter the late Lew Soloff, jazz trombonist Birch Johnson, jazz guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Butler, jazz guitarist Jack Petersen, Galen Jeter's Dallas Jazz Orchestra (later known as Dallas' Original Jazz Orchestra - "DOJO"), the Auburn Knights Orchestra, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, jazz vocal group Ladies' Night Out, vocal group Take 6, jazz and R & B vocalist Kathy Kosins, jazz vocalist Annie Sellick, jazz vocalist Bethany Smith Staelens, the Temptations Review, featuring Dennis Edwards, Chaka Khan with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Gospel vocal group The Clark Sisters and Classical choral composer K. Lee Scott.

Be sure to read Ray's Profile on Wikipedia.