A dream duo come true: Ray Charles, Count Basie

Glenn Gamboa | DROPS

October 1, 2006

It started with an old box of tapes that Concord Records had received from its purchase of Fantasy Records.

John Burk, a Concord executive, found a tape marked "Ray Charles and Count Basie" - a pairing that would have made musical history. Burk says he practically ran to a tape machine, but his find turned out to be a '70s concert that featured Charles and the Count Basie Orchestra playing separately.

Rather than chalking it up as another musical "what if," Burk began thinking, "Why not?"

After listening to the tape, Gregg Field, who had played drums for both Basie and Charles, could name many reasons. "Someone just put a mike on Ray Charles and not the rest of the band," says Field, adding that you could hear the band through Charles' mike. "We didn't have a clean vocal."

Glenn Gamboa Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

What they did have, however, was an amazing performance from Charles. "It would have been lost for the ages," Field says. "What we wanted to do would allow the world to hear him in the prime of his career."

They wanted to create a new album, using Charles' vocals as a base and having the Count Basie Orchestra add the music. It sounded like a pipe dream and the entire Concord team knew it, but they decided to try it anyway.

The result, "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" (in stores Tuesday), is a monument to ingenuity and technology. Because of the way Charles' vocals were recorded, the Count Basie Orchestra would have to recreate the original band's performance note for note, with the same exact tempo, in each of the songs. By layering those performances over the original tapes, Charles' vocals could be combined with the new Basie Orchestra performance.

"It was like painting the Sistine Chapel with a Q-tip," says Field.

As painstaking as the process was, the results have made it seem worthwhile. The new version of "Let the Good Times Roll" is extraordinary, with Charles' vocals sounding more vibrant than in years, while the crispness of the Basie Orchestra gives the song a more current feel. The arrangement of "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" is a glorious surprise, with the brass section following the expected melody, allowing Charles to play around with his delivery and phrasing.

"Georgia on My Mind" also works well, with Charles' emotional vocals playing nicely against cool, laid-back accompaniment. Singer Patti Austin, who, along with others, matched vocals of The Raylettes, says working on that song especially was a dream come true.

"I'm so proud of that song," Austin says, smiling. "I always wanted to be a Raylette. We just 'oohed' our way through 'Georgia' and sang every now and then, thinking, 'We are singing "Georgia" with Ray Charles!'"

Obviously, the process of creating "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" was riskier and more expensive than most reissues. But with the multiplatinum, Grammy-winning success of Charles' "Genius Loves Company" CD, Concord officials say they felt they could take that chance.

They have again teamed up with Starbucks, which sold 6 million copies of "Genius Loves Company" through its stores. Starbucks' chairman Howard Schultz says that the company has been transformed by its collaboration with Concord on "Genius" and that it hopes to continue that success. "That record may not have found its place" without Starbucks, he says, pointing out the company's ability to break new acts as well as veterans.

TV producer Norman Lear, who also co-owns Concord Records, says that he has high hopes for the artistry of the new album. "If the world's going to be healed, chances are it will be through music more than anything else," he says.

Sure, "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" may have started out like just another pipe dream. But thanks to some corporate backers' standing up for artistry instead of just profits, now it sounds just like a dream.

Contact Glenn Gamboa

at 631-843-3434 or glenn.gamboa@newsday.com.