Master Trumpeter Ray Vega Moves To the Next Musical Chapter With The Newly Released, 'Chapter Two' On Truth Revolution Records

Featuring: 
George Colligan - Piano, Phil Sparks - Bass and Matt Jorgensen - Drums
 
For The First Time, Chapter Two Presents Ray Vega's Mastery Of The Straight-Ahead Jazz Idiom With New Original Music And Classic Jazz Standards
 
Chapter Two marks a monumental point in the life and career of the legendary Latin jazz, mambo and salsa trumpeter Ray Vega. With this album’s release, Vega makes a new name for himself yet again demonstrating that his talent reaches beyond the Latin and world music that he is best known for.

A native to the South Bronx in New York City, Ray Vega entered the music scene in 1985 after leaving a career in private banking to pursue his passion of playing trumpet.Mentored by musicians like Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, and Mario Bauza among others,Vega supported some of the greatest Latin jazz acts and orchestras of all time. Then, in 1996, Vega proved himself as a band leader and a solo artist with the release of his first ground breaking solo record, “Ray Vega”.

“The story that I’m trying to convey(with Chapter Two) is that there is more to me than just my involvement with Latin music. This is my first recording as a sole leader where I am focusing completely on Jazz without the employment of Latin percussion instruments.” states Vega. His authenticity and knowledge of music knows no bounds, and with Chapter Two, Ray Vega shows his ability to fit right in with the settings of swing heroes like Miles Davis and Woody Shaw playing jazz classics to R&B hits. Vega’s past work experience speaks for itself, as he has worked with a wide variety of notable musicians that include, but are not limited to artists like Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Mongo Santamaria, Kirk Franklin, Paul Simon and even the Vanguard and Duke Ellington Orchestras. More recently, he has also worked with composer Osvaldo Golijov, performing contemporary classical music, further proving his versatile musical prowess.

His work and experience have earned him the title “legendary” among todays trumpeters of the Salsa and Mambo idiom. His intricate and complete understanding of bebop and jazz improvisation has led many musicians to transcribe and study his soloing, particularly on such recordings with Ray Barretto and Mongo Santamaria. His uncanny ability to effortlessly improvise over complex chord changes as well as play an authentic rendition of the traditional Cuban trumpet style, Chappotin, has made him the easy choice when any artist is in need of a trumpeter that can play absolutely anything. Ten years after his last solo recording, Chapter Two reintroduces Ray Vega in a new light, and reveals what this master and his trumpet have to say about straight ahead jazz.

This Thomas Merriot production opens up with the Woody Shaw composition, “Sweet Love of Mine”. Ray’s melodic phrasing accompanied by a Brazilian groove takes you on a exciting journey and makes you want to nod your head all the way to the end. The med-swing composition, “Dual Force,” initially composed by legendary bassist Buster Williams, features bassist Phil Sparks. Sparks takes the first solo, paying homage to the composer, masterfully implementing a casual yet purposeful style that would impress the Williams himself. The next track is the toe tapping classic, “It Could Happen To You”. It opens with a melodic solo by pianist George Colligan, who also lends a creative and colorful accompaniment to Vega’s graceful trumpet solos throughout the track.

The wide variety of arrangements on the album gives Chapter Two the essence of live jazz concert. Throughout the CD you will find yourself swinging from track to track, each standing out as a Ray Vega master piece of its own with a variety of different rhythms, tempos and grooves making Chapter Two enjoyable for any jazz listener, from the pleasantly swinging Elmo Hope tune, “So Nice”, to the piano-trumpet duet rendition of the jazz standard, “I Fall In Love Too Easily”. Although Chapter Two’s primary focus is straight ahead jazz, Vega doesn’t totally leave clave out of the picture. He brings back a hint of his Latin roots with Mongo Santamaria-esque original composition, “Second Chances.” Vega writes, “Here I wanted to focus on the beautiful feeling of being given a second chance at something. My oldest son Aaron has been dealing with some serious health challenges since the summer of 2011. He has fought the good fight and has been clearing some major hurdles. We are all so thankful for the second chance granted to us with Aaron’s health.”

“Freedom” plows ahead with that great hard bop feel of the 60’s. This tune truly displays Vega’s great versatility and undeniable compositional skills in this genre of music, featuring drummer Matt Jorgensen during a 3/4 drum solos seamlessly weaved into the composition. The album closes out with a swinging version of the R&B classic, “Never Can Say Goodbye.” In this tune Vega pays homage to his roots in R&B music and the legend of Michael Jackson, “I grew up with this tune via Michael Jackson’s classic rendition. I am a child of the 60’s and 70’s and have to say that R&B played a pivotal role in my development as a musician.”

Long time friend, Todd Barkan, writes this in his liner notes “Trumpeter and Flugelhorn maestro Ray Vega, among his countless professional accomplishments, is also one of our country’s foremost jazz educators. From the soaring swing of Woody Shaw’s “Sweet Love of Mine” to the tenderly suspended lyricism of “I Fall In Love Too Easily,” Mr. Vega and His Partners in Time teach us here evermore about what makes truly world class jazz indispensable in the life of our hearts.” Barkan closes out his notes on the album with this, “In The greatest music transports us (quite often mysteriously) from our everyday walks and stumbles of life to a rapt state of being that enables us to more harmoniously and joyously sing and swing together. CHAPTER TWO is a magic carpet of a recording by a master jazz trumpeter at the absolute pinnacle of his expressive powers, and it is both a re-affirmation and celebration of many of the most important inspirations in the artistic life of Bronx-born-and-bred Ray Vega.”