Ray Warleigh

Raymond "Ray" Kenneth Warleigh (born 28 September 1938, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is a leading UK-based alto saxophonist and flautist.

Arriving in England in 1960, Ray Warleigh quickly established himself as an in-demand session musician.[1]

He has played and recorded with major figures and bands of the UK jazz and blues scene, including Mike Oldfield, Alexis Korner, Tubby Hayes, Humphrey Lyttelton, Terry Smith, Ronnie Scott, Long John Baldry, Nick Drake, Charlie Watts, John Mayall, Allan Holdsworth, Soft Machine, Georgie Fame, Mike Westbrook, Dick Morrissey and Kenny Wheeler, as well as accompanying visiting major foreign artists such as Champion Jack Dupree. According to John Fordham in The Guardian, "Ray Warleigh brought a unique touch to every venture he played on from the 60s on, and had a successful 30-year career that partnered him with Dusty Springfield, Marianne Faithfull, Scott Walker and Stevie Wonder, among others."[2]

Warleigh's first album, in 1968, was produced by Scott Walker.[3] Warleigh's most recent album, Rue Victor Massé (2009), an improvisation with free-jazz drummer Tony Marsh,[2] has received critical acclaim. According to Jazz Review: "The duo’s synergy and common goals resound mightily here. Featuring Warleigh’s lyrically resplendent sax and flute lines, in concert with a crystalline audio sound, the musicians flex some muscle amid buoyant underpinnings."[4]

In 1971 he played sax and clarinet with the loosely-connected UK folk group P. C. Kent.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Kelsey, Ken. Biography at allmusic Retrieved 2011-05-07
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 John Fordham, "Ray Warleigh: Rue Victor Masse" (review), The Guardian, 17 April 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 John Eyles, All About Jazz, January 17, 2009.
  4. ↑ Glenn Astarita, "Rue victor masse by Ray Warleigh", Jazz Review, 12.05.2008.