|
Blues Underground Network |
Sugaray "Blind Alley"
|
Whether it be Soul, Blues, Gospel, or all points in between, the fact still remains that you are not going to find much of a better Artist to sing them then Sugaray. At 6'5" Sugaray is a big man, which is one of the reasons he is really able to belt out a song, but his ability to get even deeper into the music comes from his rich musical past. Sugaray was born Caron “Sugaray” Rayford and his love for music began as many great singers had, in Church, at a young age, singing and playing the drums. It is from those roots that he found his love for Gospel and Soul. About 12 years ago he got into the mainstream of music a bit deeper with being the lead singer for an R&B/Funk band called Urban Gypsys. It is with that band that his career had the great opportunity to become finely honed via sharing the stage with many greats, such as, "The Average White Band, Dennis Quaid, Joe Louis Walker, Kal David, Super Diamond & Venice, to name a few". After his stint with the Urban Gypsys, he moved to a more bluesier band, Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz, where he continued to gain popularity as a great blues singer, even to the point of the band coming in second place at the 2006 International Blues Challenge (IBC). Over the last 2 years Sugaray has been working on his solo career which has come to the release of his dynamic and ground breaking debut solo, "Blind Alley". "Blind Alley" consists of 10 Tracks, 2 of which were co-written by Sugaray, "Blind Alley" (Ralph Carter/Caron “Sugaray” Rayford) and "I Sing the Blues" (Sugaray & Chuck Kavooras). "Blind Alley" also contains a wonderful collection of 8 Covers, by Al Kooper, Blind Willie Johnson, Son House, B.B. King, Arthur Adams, and Joe Gorfinkle. With such a diverse amount of music, Sugaray really showed off his adaptive singing skills. "Blind Alley" starts off with a harmonica infused classic, "Nuthin' I Wouldn’t Do (For a Woman Like You)", which was written by Al Kooper, one of 2 songs that Al granted Sugaray permission to use on this album. The both of them had sang together a couple years back which Sugaray states, "was a phenomenal experience and one I will always remember". Next up is "Dark was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", a Blind Willie Johnson, which Sugaray dedicated to his mother whom passed away from cancer in 1984. Sugaray explains that this Gospel-Blues song, which was believed to be written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson around 1927 was "one of 27 samples of music included on the Voyager Golden Record, launched into space in 1977 to represent the diversity of life on Earth. "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was chosen as the human expression of loneliness." It is a song done to perfection with just Chuck Kavooras on Slide Guitar and Sugaray offering up a sprinkle of Gospel sorrow. The track which is just under 2 minutes in length, is followed more than appropriately with an amazing redention of the Son House song, "Death Letter". In addition to Kavooras' continuing his magic on the Slide Guitar, he is also accompanied by "Grammy award winning Tim Bogert of Vanilla Fudge on this haunting Son House cover, with Bryan Head (Foreigner) on the drums they make a dynamic duo." This is one very raw and very powerful song, and as sad a song of loss probably ever written. "Blind Alley" the title is next track up and the first of the co-written songs, with Ralph Carter being his co-writer on this one. Sugaray explains that they took several months writing this song and once you listen to it you will see that it was time certainly well spent. Sugaray shows us his big and bold Soulful side on this 7+ minute beauty, laced with Keyboards, Sax, Trumpet, and backup Vocals. Next up is"You Upset Me", a BB King Classic that Sugaray does a beautiful job on, which he describes as being done in a, "Slow and funky Albert King style". Sugaray's vocals take center stage and come shining through on the next track, "I Let love Slip Thru My Fingers", the other Al Kooper song on this Album. This song is done Slow and Silky, and melts like fine chocolate on a warm summers day. "You Can’t Win For Losing" a Arthur Adam song picks up the pace a bit and gives Chuck Kavooras on Rhythm Guitar and Jim King Lead Guitar a time to shine. Getting in on the act are the amazing backup vocals of Alicia Morgan & Francesca Capasso. The next track is "I’ve Got to Move", which is an uncredited public domain song. It is 46 seconds in length and lets Sugaray show you a bit of what he can do to a Gospel song. Teddy Andreadis on Organ and Lisa D. Foreman on Back Up Vocals, accompany Sugaray on this gem of of tidbit. You get a chance to hear just how good Sugaray would sound in church on any given Sunday. "I Sing the Blues" is the second last track on "Blind Alley" and the second of the 2 co-written songs. This time Sugaray co-wrote with his guitar player Extraodinaire on this Album, Chuck Kavooras. Once again Sugaray takes us down Highways Soulful Slow Lane, with his masterful singing and his great lineup of musicians including the Legendary Gary Mallaber on Drums, Chuck Kavooras on Guitar, Ralph Carter on Bass, Phil Parlapiano on Keyboard, Allan Walker on Sax, and Gary Bivona on Trumpet. This tune grabs you and sits you squarely in an classic smoky nightclub. The closing track on "Blind Alley" is one that Sugaray has a lot of fun with called "Overnight Sensation". This song is written by Joe Gorfinkle and jokes about the fact of him being referred to as an "Overnight Sensation", even though he has been plying his trade for over 25 years. It is a great tune with some fabulous Clarinet by Geoff Nudell. For a Solo Debut Album, "Blind Alley" is certainly one of the better ones released this year. It is as much fun as it diverse to listen to and one I have no problem recommending to any lover of great Soul, Blues, and Beyond music, sung about as good as anyone out there nowadays can sing it. I am certainly looking forward to more Albums by Sugaray, especially if he follows the excellent formula and magic used on "Blind Alley". Review By John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network) Other InfoTracklist 1. Nuthin' I Wouldn't Do (For A Woman
Like You) 3:48 Listen To Samples Here... About Sugaray When Sugaray belts out a song, you not only hear it, you feel it. The excitement in the room is palpable when he takes the stage; he is a superb vocalist and entertainer. His dynamic voice is large just like the man. With his old school vocal style, echoes of Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass can be heard. At 6’5” he is a big man, but he moves with grace and energy. His fluid dance steps will remind you of the Legendary James Brown. Texas born Caron “Sugaray” Rayford began his musical career as a young boy singing & playing drums in church. His gospel influence can be heard and felt in his music. Rayford's phrasing is intimate and conversational and the soulful gravel in his voice hints at his firsthand experience with hardship. He grew up in Texas, his childhood marked by poverty and loss. He remembered a sad game he played with his brothers, a competition that determined who was skinniest by counting the number of belt holes left unused. His mother struggled to raise three boys alone while battling cancer. When she died, it was a kind of relief. "She suffered and we suffered," Rayford said. "Then, we moved in with my grandmother and our lives were a lot better. We ate every day and we were in church every day, which I loved. I grew up in gospel and soul.” His switch to contemporary music began about 12 years ago in the San Diego area, where he sang lead vocals with a R&B/Funk band called Urban Gypsys. With this band he had the privilege of sharing the stage with many notable artists such as The Average White Band, Dennis Quaid, Joe Luis Walker, Kal David, Super Diamond & Venice, to name a few. After dabbling in blues, Suga realized that the blues was where his heart and soul belonged. So after some soul searching he left the Urban Gypsys and became lead vocalist for Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz, a Temecula area blues band. Shortly after joining the band in 2004, they released their first CD “Trunk Full of Bluez”. This band was hungry and did over 200 gigs a year over the next few years and their popularity rose exponentially. Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz represented San Diego (Blues Lovers United San Diego) in Memphis Tennessee January 26th- 28th, 2006 at the International Blues Challenge (IBC), and brought home the 2nd place prize. The band began playing higher profile gigs and in 2007 released their 2nd CD “It’s Tight Like That”. In September 2008, the Boyz won the LAMN Jam Grand Slam Urban Artist of the Year title by a landslide, they beat out hundreds of competitors. The band was offered a distribution deal on the spot by RBC Records. Tabitha Berg wrote “The band’s most valuable ingredient is that of the band’s dynamic front man Sugaray, he knows how to read and work a room. While most artists simply perform, exceptional artists are responsive to the mood of the crowd. The energy shifted when AKB took the stage, and they had the crowd on its feet within seconds.” After moving to Los Angeles 2 years ago, Sugaray was asked to host a blues jam at Cozy’s in Sherman Oaks. It is through this venue that Sugaray has met and played with innumerable world-class musicians. Suga’s desire to explore and expand his musical vision has been nourished by these musicians. His solo career has flourished in LA. He has done studio vocals on several projects, most recently on the theme for Judge Joe Brown, the movie trailer City Lights and back up vocals for the band The Heavy Pets. He partnered with Chuck Kavooras, a long time LA guitarist and owner of Slide Away Studios. Chuck became the musical director of the Monday night jams. He began booking the artists for the band around Suga’s vocals and Sugaray and the CK All Stars were born. The first set of every Monday is performed by this house band, which is made up of rotating members of which are all cream of the crop musicians. CK All Stars Guitar: Chuck Kavooras Suga’s jam has become the place to be on a Monday night in L.A. Such notable artists as Al Kooper, Slash, Jim Carey, Steve Lukather (Toto) Jubu, Eddie Baytos, Alex Ligertwood (Santana), Ben Carey (Lifehouse), Mike Finnigan, Orianthi, Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Gerald Johnson (Steve Miller Band, Dave Mason) have all set in. Sugaray just finished his first solo project entitled Blind Alley, which is scheduled for release July 16th 2010 in Lake Tahoe at the Shakespeare Festival. Suga states “the creation of this CD has been a journey of hard work and love and the resulting product is one I am very proud of. I am so grateful for the high caliber of talent that has played on this project. It has been a dream come true for me.” It was produced by Chuck Kavooras and recorded at SlideAway Studios. Mastered by Boris Menart at EDIT 1 Mastering. http://www.myspace.com/sugaray213
|