BIOGRAPHY
"Ray Blue has a majestic presence…when playing, his sense of purpose is obvious. It's one thing to be a good composer, it's another to be a great performer. Ray Blue's got the whole package."
- Jean Szlamowicz, Jazz Hot, Down Beat
"There is nothing quite like the comforting warmth of the tenor saxophone front and center... Ray Blue's fluid, lyrical style is technically solid... The exquisite, evocative melodies are delivered with convincing feeling and emotion.
- Joe Ross, Roots Music Report
"He has a big sound and the improvisatory presence, unfurling broad-shouldered solos... a vigorous player who knows how to hold a crowd."
- Peter Vacher, London Jazz Review
Saxophonist Ray Blue was inducted into New York Blue Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ray Blue and the Band at the recording session in 2021. From L to R:
Steve Johns, Ray Blue, Jeff Barone, Sharp Radway and Essiet Okon Essiet.
Educator Ray Blue received the Living Legacy Award presented by the Peekskill Middle School LEAP in 2017.
Magnetic saxophonist, composer Ray Blue is the celebrated performer whose imaginative, inventive and rarefied melodies capture the hearts and minds of listeners. Through his signature style, Ray performs with authenticity, sincerity and a swinging energy. Ray is a seasoned, award-winning recording artist, who is revered for his originality, musicality, soulful beauty and tantalizing performances. He was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame as a Blues and Jazz Artist in 2013. His sophisticated style and improvisational instincts make him one of the most compelling performers and composers. Ray wields an unparalleled talent and technique that is universally loved.
A mainstay on the New York Jazz scene, Ray Blue is a true ray of luminescent light, sharing the stage and recording studio as a leader and sideman along-side Kirk Lightsey, Kenny Barron, Victor Jones, Essiet Okon Essiet, Benito Gonzales, Nat Adderley, Jr., Lafayette Harris, Belden Bullock, Alvester Garnett, Steve Johns, Sharp Radway, Jeff Barone, Bobby Sanabria, Bernard Purdie, Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, Cotton Club Orchestra, Sun Ra Arkestra and others.
Ray mentored with some of the most notable names in modern jazz: Houston Person, George Coleman, Barry Harris, Paul Jeffries, Benny Powel, Arthur Blythe and Ornette Coleman. He was a cast member of the Ray Charles Show touring company in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. With technical poise and polish, plus a show stopping stage presence, Ray is both conservator and interpreter of blues and jazz, in addition to his own compositions, he brings to life a deep appreciation for the music of Miles Davis, Ben Webster, Stanley Turrentine, Gene Ammons, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Hugh Masakela and others. Ray elevates the roots of blues and jazz with boundless emotion and sensational skill.
Ray released his first CD as a leader, Always With A Purpose, in 2001. Then came Live at Liars Theater in 2004 and Live at Liars Theater 2 in 2005. In 2006 Ray released Transvision on the Neu Klang label and Berries and Blues in 2010. His CD Work on Jazz Heads Records was released in October 2019, He also recorded three Christmas single releases with Lafayette Harris and Nat Adderley, Jr. The newest recording #People was released in May 2023.
Ray Blue endorses Conn-Selmer saxophones, and Vandoren mouthpieces and reeds, and GB saxophone necks. He works with the Jazzheads music label.
