Title: Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival (Birmingham, Ala.), Fourth Avenue Jazz Festival (Birmingham. "Tip led to 4-count child porn indictment against well-known Birmingham jazz musician". Title: Magic City Art Connection (Birmingham, Ala.). ^ "Taste of Fourth Avenue Jazz Festival".^ "Interview with Ray Reach on "Tapestry" on WBHM Radio, Birmingham, AL".^ "First United Methodist Church of Birmingham".^ "Cleveland Eaton and the Alabama All-Stars".^ Brown, Angela: "Birmingham Beat – Uncovering the Local Music Scene", Birmingham Magazine, March, 2006, p.Lou Marini and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra.UAB SuperJazz, Featuring Ellis Marsalis (2001) Ellis Marsalis and the SuperJazz Big Band.Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas (2005) - with Sonny Harris on drums, Chris Wendle on bass and Gary Wheat on saxophone.Īs vocalist, pianist, arranger and co-producer.Especially for You (1994) - with Robert Dickson on bass, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame inductee Sonny Harris on drums, and Gary Neil McLean on saxophone and flute.Marshals in Alabama for the possession of child pornography. On April 23, 2018, Reach was arrested by U.S. On September 27, 2008, The Ray Reach Quartet, featuring saxophonist Gary Wheat, drummer Steve Ramos, and Count Basie bassist Cleveland Eaton with guest New York trumpeter Lew Soloff, appeared at the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival in Birmingham, Alabama. On August 21, 2008, he was featured on the "Tapestry" radio show, hosted by Greg Bass on WBHM Radio 90.3 FM in Birmingham, Alabama. From July 20–26, 2008, he performed at the W. On March 20, 2008, at the invitation of Chuck Leishman, publisher of The Birmingham Weekly, Reach directed the house band at the 2008 Birmingham Area Music Awards. In January 2008, Reach performed as guest artist with the Howard Paul Trio at the Jazz Corner on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, a venue he returned to with his own trio on October 3 and 4. In 1991 he returned to Minor High School as the choral director.Īs a composer, he has written and arranged five Broadway-style musicals for Birmingham Children's Theatre: Rumplestiltskin, The Perfect Prince, The Bravo Bus, Backstage Baby, and Tuxedo Junction. He also sang with the Birmingham Civic Opera and, while at Birmingham-Southern, sang lead roles in operas such as The Telephone, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Barber of Seville, and The Marriage of Figaro. Subsequently, he sang at First United Methodist Church of Birmingham (under Sam Owens and later under Hugh Thomas) and was baritone soloist and choir singer at Independent Presbyterian Church in Birmingham under choirmaster and organist Joseph Schreiber. Following this, he was a paid singer at Fairview United Methodist Church, then later was choir director at Norwood United Methodist Church. To this day, Ray refers to his singing, among the many musical skills he possesses, as the "best thing he does musically." ĭuring his college undergraduate years, Ray began his choral directing career at Village Falls United Methodist Church. He began formal voice lessons at age 15 with Andrew Gainey at Birmingham-Southern College and later entered Birmingham-Southern as a voice major, planning to pursue a career as a professional singer. His love for choral music began at Dixie Junior High School, where he sang in the choir under Tom Pinion, and later at Minor High School under John Fowler. His first public performance was at age four, singing a spiritual song at his home church, Minor United Methodist near Birmingham. Reach has been a singer all his life and has been an active choral conductor for more than 35 years. He leads his own group, Ray Reach and Friends, and is a former member of the SuperJazz Big Band. Survey results from this past summer revealed 99% of attendees were satisfied with Jazz in the Park® concert series and 98.7% are likely to attend again next year.Reach is a member of several active performing and recording groups, including the Magic City Jazz Orchestra (of which he is the founding director), the Ray Reach Orchestra, the Night Flight Big Band, and Cleveland Eaton and the Alabama Allstars. Magic City Smooth jazz and Alabama State Parks Division collaborated to present Jazz in the Park® at Chewacla State Park in Auburn, AL (Lee County). Magic City Smooth Jazz collaborated with Birmingham-Southern College to present Jazz on the Hilltop and Walker County Arts Alliance for Arts in the Park. In 2014, presented Jazz in the Park® in 14 culturally underserved parks primarily in the Greater Birmingham area including Jefferson, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa counties at no cost to the public. Since 2008, Magic City Smooth Jazz has presented over 50 concerts, supporting over 250 Alabama jazz artists, impacting over 20,000 adults and children, while presenting music workshops for youth and adults.
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