Never-before-Released Ray Charles Tapes

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Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music announced today that they will partner again to co-release and co-market Ray Sings, Basie Swings, which marries archival, never-before-released Ray Charles recordings with brand-new performances by the Count Basie Orchestra. A painstaking labor of love that combines cutting-edge technology and musical ingenuity, Ray Sings, Basie Swings due out October 3rd, 2006 at Starbucks Company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada and at traditional music retail, showcases the late artist at his dazzling peak. Although Ray Charles and Count Basie shared the same bill during their careers, Ray Sings, Basie Swings marks the first and only recordings in which the "Genius" is backed by the legendary bandleader's orchestra.

John Burk, Concord Records' A&R chief and producer of Ray Charles' 2004 multiple GRAMMY Award-winning blockbuster album Genius Loves Company, came upon the lost tapes simply marked "Ray / Basie, " in late 2005 while surveying the label's vaults in Berkeley, CA. While documentation about the original recordings is scarce, the archival reels that served as source material for Ray Sings, Basie Swings were apparently concert tapes made in the 1970s by legendary impresario-producer Norman Granz.

"The quality of these reels wasn't great, " Burk recalls. "They appeared to be recordings from the live soundboard with Ray's vocal way up front, and the band way in the background. At first, the tapes seemed unusable, but Ray sounded amazing." Further investigation found that Charles was in fact performing with his own band and that the Basie Orchestra played earlier in the set. "I was disappointed that Ray wasn't performing with the Basie band. But, then I thought that we could re-record the music with the current Basie Orchestra."

Ray Sings, Basie Swings gives listeners the unprecedented experience of hearing Ray Charles at the height of his powers with the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. "The end result is a beautiful, authentic and irreplaceable piece of music, " muses Burk. "These tapes were just waiting for technology to catch up so we can help Ray do what he always did so naturally-make magic happen."

Joe Adams, Charles' longtime manager, describes the discovery of the lost tapes as "extraordinary, " adding, "Ray had such tremendous respect for Basie and often expressed a desire to work with him on a recording project. Now through the miracles of technology, we are able to fulfill one of Ray's unfulfilled dreams. His vocal performance here is one of the best I have ever heard." Indeed, Ray Sings, Basie Swings features superb renderings of such classics as "Georgia on My Mind, " "I Can't Stop Loving You, " "Busted, " "How Long Has This Been Going On?, " "Let the Good Times Roll, " "Crying Time, " "Feel So Bad, " "Look What They've Done to My Song, " "The Long and Winding Road, " the set opener "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning, " and "Every Saturday Night" a long-time concert favorite never- before-released on record.

Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music first collaborated in 2004 when the two Companies co-released and co-marketed Ray Charles' last recording, Genius Loves Company. The ground-breaking partnership helped to establish Starbucks as a major player in the music industry when the multi-platinum-selling CD won a record-tying eight GRAMMY Awards, including Album and Record of the Year. To date, Genius Loves Company has sold nearly 6 million copies worldwide, with Starbucks representing 25 percent of overall sales in the U.S.

"We are honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with Ray Charles' estate and Concord Records yet again to make these extraordinary, archival Ray Charles recordings available to the world for the first time, " said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. "Our customers have demonstrated their passion for Ray Charles' music and this project offered an exciting opportunity to leverage state-of-the-art technology to realize John Burk and Gregg Field's musical vision." Glen Barros, president of Concord Music Group added, "We are so thrilled to once again team up with Starbucks Hear Music and the genius of Ray Charles for this very special follow-up record to Genius Loves Company. The historical significance of discovering Ray's tapes and the brilliance of the Basie orchestra makes Ray Sings, Basie Swings a particularly exciting and meaningful recording to all of us."

To undertake the intricate and laborious task of re-working the Ray / Basie tapes, Burk solicited the help of multi-talented musician, producer and engineer Gregg Field, who toured and recorded with both Charles (as drummer and arranger) and with Basie's band, including on the GRAMMY Award-winning "A Warm Breeze." In addition to his intimate familiarity with the music, Field is also renowned for his studio wizardry; virtually all of his skills and experience were instrumental in bringing Ray Sings, Basie Swings to fruition. "Gregg worked with both Ray and Basie. He lived the music and he's brilliant in the studio, which made him perfect for this project, " notes Burk, who, like Joe Adams, believes Charles' vocals often surpass his finest renditions.

Field and Burk brought the current Basie orchestra -- under the direction of Bill Hughes -- into the studio to recreate the instrumental backdrop for Charles' towering vocals. "Our goal was to create a recording that would retain Basie's stylistic sound while utilizing Ray's original music, expanded wherever possible to feature the Count Basie band, " Field explains.

A coterie of musical luminaries lent their abilities to Ray Sings, Basie Swings including multi-GRAMMY Award-winning singer Patti Austin, who arranged and sang with the new Raelettes to provide critical vocal counterpoint. Jazz pianists Shelly Berg and Jim Cox, Tom Scott and notable B-3 organist Joey DeFrancesco also added their distinctive touch either as arrangers or players on the new recording.

Field, Burk and the other players and technicians walked a tightrope, striving to build an instrumental structure around Charles' vocals that matched the faded original band but was also sufficiently vibrant and nuanced to avoid sounding forced. "We worked so hard to retain the artistic integrity of each artist, " Field relates, "and the result is an amazing combination of the Ray vocal style and the Basie sound. I can't tell you how many times we'd turn the vocal down in the studio to work on the track, and when we brought Ray back into the mix, the hair on the back of your neck would stand up."

Once the orchestra tracks were recorded to their satisfaction, "it was a lesson in Pro Tools editing, " adds Burk, referring to the ubiquitous recording and mixing application. It took four months, but the diligent effort proved highly rewarding. "It was a fusion of cutting-edge technology and the enormous depth of these great artists, " he asserts.

"More and more, we saw how emotionally compelling Ray's vocal tracks were, " Burk marvels. "As the mixes came into focus, we began to recognize that these were clearly some of his best performances. Ray's brilliant, one-of-a-kind rhythmic phrasing is a perfect complement to the Basie sound."

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