Forwarding this from the "Songbirds" group, note the reference to Patti.


-----Original Message-----
From: songbirds@yahoogroups.com [mailto:songbirds@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Songbirds moderator
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 2:27 AM
To: songbirds@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [songbirds] Ray Charles: "Ray Sings, Basie Swings"

New CD Pairs Ray Charles and Count Basie

by David Bauder
Associated Press, August 16, 2006

NEW YORK -- Ray Charles never performed with the late Count Basie when the
two music legends were alive, but now they are being united in death.

Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music said Wednesday they will release a
disc this fall that combines vocals recorded by Charles during a concert in
the mid-1970s with new music made by today's Count Basie Orchestra.

Among the dozen cuts on "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" are "Busted," "I Can't
Stop Loving You," "The Long and Winding Road" and "Georgia on My Mind."

The last project Charles recorded before his death on June 10, 2004 was the
duets album "Genius Loves Company," which earned eight Grammy Awards. It
sold more than six million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-seller of
his career.

While looking through a record company vault in late 2005, one of the
"Genius Loves Company" producers came up with tapes marked "Ray/Basie." The
producer, John Burk, thought he'd found something to rewrite history. While
the acts had shared concert bills, it was believed they had never performed
together.

The tapes turned out to contain a copy of Charles singing accompanied by his
own orchestra, although the music was recorded so poorly it could barely be
heard. Burk had the idea of pairing the vocal recordings with new
instrumental backing.

Charles' team isn't even sure where or when the recordings were made,
guessing it was sometime in the mid-1970s based on the repertoire.

Gregg Field, a drummer who toured and recorded with both Charles' and
Basie's bands before Basie died in 1984, was brought in to build the new
disc with computer editing. Field had to match Charles' singing to the new
band's performance, often stretching or compacting the space between words
in order to fit the tempo.

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

Singer Patti Austin brought together and sang with a new group of Raelettes.


Joe Adams, Charles' longtime manager who had worked with him for 49 years,
said it was probably a timing issue that kept Charles and Basie apart
despite their mutual respect.

"Ray was a stickler for rhythm and said Basie always called the exact right
rhythm for every song and he never overplayed," Adams said.

Since the musical marriage of Natalie Cole with her late father Nat King
Cole on "Unforgettable," technology has advanced to the point of making
almost anything possible. Mashups, which marry artists and songs in odd
combinations, have become an underground art form.

Adams said he will protect Charles' legacy but he doesn't know if the future
holds any more such projects.

"This is the best use of technology, when we can bring an amazing Ray
Charles performance -- one of the best he ever had -- and build a musical
form around it," Field said. "You would hope that the people charged with
the custody of master recordings would respect the way they should be used."


The disc will be released Oct. 3 at traditional retailers and at Starbucks
stores, where more than 800,000 copies of "Genius Loves Company" have been
sold.






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