Ray Charles - Live At Montreux 1997 (2002)

This is Ray with a BIG Jazz Band!

If you know Ray Charles from his R&B concerts you're in for a surprise with this 58- minute concert taped at the Montreux Jazz Fest in Switzerland in 1997. Ray sits at a small keyboard, not a piano, and is backed by a large 15-piece "big band"! For the first number - "Mr. Ray Charles" - the band overpowers his vocals and drowns him out. But things get MUCH better after that. His hits are all here with big band arrangements but there's also songs like "Mississippi Mud" which you wouldn't hear at a typical RC concert.

"Just For a Thrill" is done in a long extended version with wonderful instrumental solos by Charles on keyboard and David Hoffman on flugelhorn. "Scotia Blues" is another "big band" number. The only thing that slows down the momentum of the show is "Watch Them Dogs", which is a vocal solo by the lead singer for the Raelettes.

The camera work is excellent with lots of great angles and close-ups. And the image is sharp. And there's a nice set of program notes included in the DVD case as well.

This is the "jazz" side of Ray Charles - even on his country hit "I Can't Stop Loving You".

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"


January 23, 2008

Good documentation of Ray's live show

This CD is a great example of Ray's live show with his band and the Raelettes. Audio is generally good, although there are a few mixing difficulties.

I really enjoy this one, though. Just a concert performance straight through. No edits, no enhancements, just Ray with the band.
August 5, 2007

Overall a good concert!

I enjoyed this concert. The audio was fairly good although several horn solos were poorly recorded so they were barely audible. The camera angles must have been quite restricted because throughout the DVD the right side of the same 'bone player's face kept being shown. The Raylette's were fun to watch. The DVD featured a good number of tunes. I recommend it! December 29, 2006

it's ray - it's good

I read a review, where someone points out that the sounds quality is'nt that great. Maybe so (i did'nt hear it), but who cares? It's Ray Charles and seeing him working his keyboard without sound at all is a real pleasure.

The sound is great for anyone who just want's to enjoy the briliance and the genius of soul Ray charles.

I saw more dvd's of ray (for example "in miami with Diane Schuur" where mr. charles whas less active and looking much older. althoug he is (was) a old man and can't do all the things he used to do, on this particualy dvd "ray charles at the montreux jazz festival"he swings, smiles, dances behind his keyboard like he was 22.

buy it and enjoy it
R.I.P Ray Charles Genius of Soul January 21, 2005

Genius at his best!

I was a fan of Ray's since childhood when my grandmother used to play his music all of the time. I didn't realize the genius of the man until I got older. The man played many instruments,including the sax, trumpet, and of course the piano that we associate with him, just to name a few. The Genius besides being an accomplished musician was also an accomplished music writer, arranger and producer. Watching this DVD concert left me wanting more and made me appreciate the genius of the man so much more. The concert was about 75 minutes long, but as the adage goes, "time flies when you're having fun", definitely applies here. He played alot of his standards and some classic pop standards from other artists with his special touches which make you think, "why didn't they do it that way"? My only complaint was I wished the concert could of been longer. There were some standards he didn't play that I was hoping to hear, but I guess when you're watching a concert of a musical genius who have a repetoir of over 600+ songs, you have to end it somewhere. Ray's performance in this concert will impress and his mastery of the keyboard synthesizer in this concert will bring tears to the eyes. The added treat to this DVD is the interview feature where he critiques his music, where he drew his inspiration, and why he did each song that way in the concert, and his views on music in general. One other additional feature I liked in this DVD/CD set is the timeline of the man and his many, many, accomplishments which was chronicled from his childhood, to when he became blind, the ooodles and ooodles of awards and accolades he accomplished throughout his career, just stopping short of his death. If you're a fan of the Genius, this DVD/CD set is a must have. January 10, 2005

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