Ray Charles and Quincy Jones were teenagers when they met in a Seattle nightclub, one of dozens clustered around Jackson Street in the 1940s. They were both aspiring jazz musicians, Charles a pianist, Jones a trumpeter.
They were among many now- familiar names who got their start in Seattle: Buddy Catlett, Ernestine Anderson, Gerald Wiggins, Floyd Standifer. Jones and Charles eventually achieved the most fame, moving beyond their original genre, becoming stars of pop and R&B.
The pair collaborated on the seminal 1961 album “Genius + Soul = Jazz," which featured Charles on the Hammond B3 organ, with members of the Count Basie band, performing big-band arrangements by Jones. The scores that came out of that collaboration will be performed by Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in two shows this weekend as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival, which ends Sunday.
“It's a celebrated partnership and this album is the most famous collaboration between Quincy Jones and Ray Charles," said saxophonist Michael Brockman, who with drummer Clarence Acox directs SRJO.
They were among many now- familiar names who got their start in Seattle: Buddy Catlett, Ernestine Anderson, Gerald Wiggins, Floyd Standifer. Jones and Charles eventually achieved the most fame, moving beyond their original genre, becoming stars of pop and R&B.
The pair collaborated on the seminal 1961 album “Genius + Soul = Jazz," which featured Charles on the Hammond B3 organ, with members of the Count Basie band, performing big-band arrangements by Jones. The scores that came out of that collaboration will be performed by Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in two shows this weekend as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival, which ends Sunday.
“It's a celebrated partnership and this album is the most famous collaboration between Quincy Jones and Ray Charles," said saxophonist Michael Brockman, who with drummer Clarence Acox directs SRJO.
