AllenLowe Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 I met Ray in New Haven Connecticut in the 1990s and began working with him, eventually recording 5 CDs - At the Moment of Impact, New Tango, Woyzek's Death, American Song Project, and Mental Strain at Dawn - we worked together a lot, got to be friends, and a few years later Ray married a German woman, moved to Berlin and than Ulm. Well, recently I was listening to some of that old music and realized (once again) that Ray is not just a good drummer but a brilliant and original drummer, able to play in all styles, incredibly inventive and creative; Roswell Rudd, with whom we recorded several times, told me he had worked with everyone, and Ray was the equal of any drummer he had ever performed with. It kills me that I can so rarely work with Ray, as he comes to the States only on occasion - but I wanted to mention his name here as I truly believe he is one the the world's great drummers - he does tour a bit of Europe, so keep your eyes out for him - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randissimo Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 I met Ray in New Haven Connecticut in the 1990s and began working with him, eventually recording 5 CDs - At the Moment of Impact, New Tango, Woyzek's Death, American Song Project, and Mental Strain at Dawn - we worked together a lot, got to be friends, and a few years later Ray married a German woman, moved to Berlin and than Ulm. Well, recently I was listening to some of that old music and realized (once again) that Ray is not just a good drummer but a brilliant and original drummer, able to play in all styles, incredibly inventive and creative; Roswell Rudd, with whom we recorded several times, told me he had worked with everyone, and Ray was the equal of any drummer he had ever performed with. It kills me that I can so rarely work with Ray, as he comes to the States only on occasion - but I wanted to mention his name here as I truly believe he is one the the world's great drummers - he does tour a bit of Europe, so keep your eyes out for him - With a name like Kaczynski, I bet he also plays the f*ck out of a polka !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted February 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 he can, indeed, do anything - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neveronfriday Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 I saw him in 2003. He is an exceptional percussionist. What fascinated me about him was the diversity he brought to his playing. Very versatile, always adding touches and flourishes that looked oh-so simple but were more often than not dramatically different from what I expected. It's that element of surprise (that might well only have been suprising to my musical mind) that makes me remember that today. BTW: The music was NOT my cup of tea. Didn't matter though. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neveronfriday Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 (edited) http://www.xray-k.com/ 2005 MARCH 17. BRD rundfunk "Jazz Live" recording session with the Dieter Köhnlein Trio. The session will be broadcast at a later date. APRIL / MAY Workshops and concerts tenetively planned for late April and early May in Tblisi, Georgia. JUNE 18. Workshop for Choreographers with live music performance, and compositions by Raymond Kaczynski. Places are available as of 27. December 2004. Contact the Volkshochschule-Ulm for details on how to reserve a place for yourself in the workshop. Edited February 18, 2005 by deus62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEK Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 I recall seeing Ray Kaczynski, back in the '80s, playing with the Northwoods Improvisers. He was a very flexible and technically adroit drummer, even in those early student days. He's one of the very few good "jazz" musicians who has passed through Central Michigan University's Music Department (imho B-) ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Carter Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 I met Ray when he first moved to Connecticut and hired him for some straight-ahead gigs. As I moved more and more towards Brazilian Jazz playing, I was elated to find that Ray was also into that. We did some trio, quartet and even duo gigs. It was always a pleasure working with Ray as he always found the "music" in every setting. Allen: I also remember sitting in on one of your gigs with Ray and Jeff Fuller, someone else who could use a thread here. Joe C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted February 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 (edited) yes, Jeff was the other half of my rhythm section, another of the less-known greats - (I remember sitting in his basement and watching Joe record with Cecil Payne) - since moving to Maine I've been largely inactive, mostly because there ain't much work up here, but also because with Ray in Europe and Jeff far away I have lost a bit of the urge (though there are some extremely fine musicians up here) - I was wondering where that picture of Ray is from in that earlier post? I will tell you that I was floored by Roswell Rudd's comments, as here's a guy who has worked with everyone from Eddie Condon to Cecil Taylor - and you know, listening to Ray on those recordings we did, I realize that he's absolutely right - Edited February 18, 2005 by AllenLowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neveronfriday Posted February 19, 2005 Report Share Posted February 19, 2005 (edited) I was wondering where that picture of Ray is from in that earlier post? I took it off a web page for the concert I saw. They, in return, pulled it off Achim Goetter's page, who plays with Kaczynski on and off. If you go to this page (http://www.act-art.de/multimedia.htm) you'll find a photo of the two playing together right at the top of the page. Achim Goetter got the photo off Kaczynski's page. It can also be found there (http://www.xray-k.com/photos.htm). As to where/when it was taken, I have no idea. Cheers! Edited: added links Edited February 19, 2005 by deus62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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