Ray Charles is one of my all time favorites! And, Marian McPartland of course! An inspiration for many musicians and I know of one story from a famous musician, that when his father took him to see Ray Charles in concert, he knew what he wanted to do in life! I’m sure there are many. Who’s your inspiration?
Excerpt from the interview with Marian McPartland and Ray Charles
“Singer, pianist and composer Ray Charles is one of the most legendary musicians of the 20th century. His unique style drew on a wide variety of influences that can be traced back to the music he heard as a kid growing up in the rural South: the blues music played by the men in his town, the gospel music he heard at church, country music on Saturday-night broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry, and the big-band music of Ellington and Basie that he heard late at night on the radio.
Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson on Sept. 23, 1930, in Albany, Ga. He slowly began to lose his eyesight as a child; by age 7, he was blind. He went to St. Augustine’s School for the Deaf and Blind, where he began formal piano lessons. He studied classically there, but he enjoyed sneaking jazz and blues licks into his practicing.”
Listen and read full article here……