Musical Ambassador ....
Clay Ross is an
Ambassador of Jazz.
No, he really is.
He has that title from the State Department.
He's a talented young man from Anderson, SC who has made a name for himself on the music scene.
Clay blends Brazilian folk with American Bluegrass and wraps it all together in a jazzy package.
Clay brought his 6-man band to the Pour House last Tuesday and had the place jumpin'.
Many here remember him from
Gradual Lean as he honed his jazz chops.
Then he headed up to New York, traveled back and forth to Brazil and created a sound and style he calls
Mantuto.
Ze Mauricio was the Percussionist who played everything in sight to make amazing sounds.
Edward Perez was on bass (with cowbells?!) and Richie Barshay was excellent on drums.
Rob Curto on accordian and Rob Hecht on fiddle held center stage with Clay for a glorious evening.
The second set began with a quiet salute to Jack McCray who died last month.
Jack was the founder in 2008 of the JAC, Jazz Artists of Charleston and a close friend of Clay.
"We'd meet for brunch at Joesph's and he always asked me to play 'Melancholy Baby.'"
"I never did so this one's for you Jack."(Click on the pictures to see more detail.)
The sound - as usual - was just perfect. Not easy to do with the varied percussion instruments, balanced with strings.
Clay made a point to walk around and chat briefly with everyone in the place during the intermission. Have not seen that before.
Nice guy. Very ambassadorial.
Labels: Clay Ross, Edward Perez, Gradual Lean, JAC, Matuto, Richie Barshay, Rob Curto, Rob Hecht, Ze Mauricio
Cool Haircut Day....
Lee Barbour, on guitar, has formed and led several bands here in Charleston.
Pure jazz...Gypsy Swing ...Samba...you name, he can play it.
Then he moved up to New York and now just comes down to visit. It's always good to see - and hear - Lee again.
Here he is Tuesday night with his longtime band
Gradual Lean.
The night before he performed upstairs at Mistral with his group
Caravan.
Apparently Lee found the time to stop and get a latitude adjustment at a hair salon.
He remembered it's hotter here.
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Labels: Gradual Lean, haircut, latitude adjustment
A Day With Mr. Jazz - Jack McCray
The talented stars of the
Holy City Homecomin’ Tuesday night at The Footlight Players Theatre Tuesday evening were
Gradual Lean and Clay Ross’ Matuto.They played great and the packed room really felt the magic.
But the behind-the-scenes driving force was Jack McCray.
It was his evening, his day, his week and his 30th year of being Mr. Jazz in Charleston.
This year he led the creation of the
JAC - Jazz Artists of Charleston. This is his third successful gathering of talent and businesses to make things happen.
I’ve known Jack for years as the hip music writer at The Post and Courier and editor of neighborhood editions of the paper. Jack is my go-to man when I have questions about music: the Blues, Jazz, you name it. The man knows his stuff.
My Day With McCray started in Philadelphia Alley, next to the Footlight Theatre on Queen Street, when we participated in the afternoon interactive rhythmic workshop presented by Clay Ross and members of his group. It was a moving experience. No, I mean it, we REALLY moved around.
Then we climbed the stairs and met in a room over the Theatre and Jack regaled us with a vivid recap of his 30-year musical odyssey in Charleston jazz awareness and growth.
He is a great storyteller and took questions from the rapt audience.
After a break for a bite to eat, I was back for the 7:30 performance of
The Homecomin’. Naturally, Jack McCray was the Master of Ceremonies.
A beautiful day in our seaside city with a man who continues to turn his vision into reality.
I'm pleased to be a SPO-Jo
Citizen Journalist during this 17-day Spoleto Piccolo Festival of the Arts. My badge lets me look a little deeper into events and I try to share what I find. Check ALL the Festival coverage at
www.spoletotoday.com.(Thanks to Gradual Lean: Lee Barbour, Kebbie Williams, Etienne Charles, Kevin Hamilton, Quentin Baxter and Clay Ross and his group Matuto: Itai Kriss, Rob Hecht, Tim Keiper, Edward Perez.)
Click on the photos for more detail.
Labels: Clay Ross, Footlight Players Theatre, Gradual Lean, Jack McCray, Matuto, Mr. Jazz
Clay Ross is an Ambassador of Jazz. 
Clay brought his 6-man band to the Pour House last Tuesday and had the place jumpin'.
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