Ray Charles- The Genius After Hours
(Numbered Hybrid Mono SACD)
Track List
The Genius After Hours
Ain't Misbehavin'
Dawn Ray
Joy Ride
Hornful Soul
The Man I Love
Charlesville
Music, Music, Music
Ray CharlesThe Genius After Hourson Numbered-Edition Hybrid Mono SACD from Mobile Fidelity
1961 Instrumental Set True to Its Name: The Sound of Charles Letting Loose in an Intimate Jazz Club
Intimate Affair Finds Legendary Pianist Pairing With Small Combos, Exploring Bluesy Sides
The Definitive Mono Edition: Mobile Fidelity Hybrid SACD Boasts Unprecedented Sonic Clarity
There's no doubtingRay Charlesbecame a legend only after moving toAtlantic Recordswhere, in the mid and late 1950s, he rung up a string of hits that redefined popular music and gave birth to R&B. Yet the label refused to shoehornCharlesinto strictly sticking with vocal fare. Recognizing his jazz and blues roots,Atlanticboth permitted and encouraged him to record instrumental sides with jazz combos and pursue piano-based material with which he was originally associated.
Mastered from the original master tapes, and restored to a quality that hasn't been realized since the initial pressings more than 50 years ago, Mobile Fidelity's hybrid mono SACD version ofThe Genius After Hourstakes its place as one of the most unsurpassed-sounding examples of Charles' first love affair: jazz and blues. Opening up the veil onto these early 1960s sessions, the collector's disc functions as a table-side seat at a smoky jazz club where, for sheer fun and amusement,Charlesgathers with a handful of cohorts and lets loose with hard-bop standards and swinging rhythms. The cavity ofCharles'instrument, acoustic signatures of the stand-up bass lines, and swish of the percussion are all presented with unfettered realism.
Taken from the same three studio gatherings that yieldedThe Great Ray Charles, the eight tunes here feature the icon pairing with both a trio and a septet. Longtime collaboratorDavid "Fathead" Newmanplays tenor and alto sax, while trumpeterJoseph Bridgewaterand bassistOscar Pettifordalso contribute memorable performances.Hall of Fame producer Quincy Joneshandles the arrangements on the bigger-band tracks. Yet the star of the program remainsCharles, and the carefree, charming manner in which he causes the music to move in any direction he wills.
Refreshingly easygoing and naturally soulful,Charlesplays in time with his mates, cozying up to the ivories whether responding toNewman'sbrassy currents or reacting to the be-bop sway on "Joy Ride."Slightly removed from the gospel trademarks of his more commercial fare, Charles burrows into the blues, engaging in back-and-forth dialog with the brushed drums on "Dawn Ray" and laying down countermelodies on arrangements in the septet setting.Close your eyes, and you're feet away from Ray and the boys at an intimate 3 A.M. gathering in a small club in New York's Greenwich Village!