Reprint by Permission of the Editor ~ © JSJBF 2004

November 12, 2004 ~ Cape May, New Jersey
Arriving Cape May amidst the cold, wind and rain of the season’s first Nor’easter, this was my first visit to the Cape May Jazz Festival. For those who are unfamiliar with the set up, Cape May sits at Mile Zero off the Garden State Parkway and is renowned for its beautiful beaches and well kept Victorian-era houses, mansions and quaint shops, complete with cobblestone side streets, trolley cars, and horse and carriage rides. In this environment seemingly designer-made for enjoyment, there are lots of restaurants, bars and clubs scattered along the main oceanfront stretch and on the neighboring streets. With the clubs being in close proximity, the Jazz Fest usually takes the form of a “club crawl,” where festival-goers plan their own schedules, strolling from club to club to check out various gigs (or portions of) from the listed program events, many which run concurrently. Given the extreme weather conditions on Friday, the Jazz Festival organizers provided a continual and frequent free bus service throughout the evening to transport (the fearless!) music lovers between clubs, as well as return trips to area hotels.

Ray Gomez was scheduled to play three sets at Cabanas beginning at 9:00 p.m., and despite the raging storm patrons were already seated, with more filing into the club at 8:30 p.m. Members of the trio were all very accessible and enjoyed talking with acquaintances and show patrons, some with their treasured vintage RAY GOMEZ VOLUME albums in hand for Ray to autograph. I talked with bass player, John Benitez before the show, who said “Ray has a very big sound. I’m happy to be playing with him. It’s gonna be beautiful!”

The presenter introduced the band to the stage and as promised on the jazz fest website, “Ray Gomez will storm Cabanas as he unleashes the blues!” …Actually, he unleashed a lot more than just blues, delving deep into rock, jazz, fusion and funk. Band members were Ray Gomez, on guitar and vocals, Thierry Arpino on drums, and John Benitez on bass and accompanying vocals.

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With somewhat similar professional musical experiences the trio worked together seamlessly, developing fresh explorations into old and new Ray Gomez compositions, as well as exciting covers of Ray Charles and Beatles tunes.

Those familiar with Ray’s playing know he is possibly the single most imaginatively inventive guitarist around. One never knows quite what to expect from any given number, except that it will be unexpected! It’s like this… an arrangement can start out with a warm, bluesy groove, suddenly make a dead-end stop, take a left hand turn, and then head out on a wild, soaring fusion journey into the stratosphere… And it’s great!! Ray will lay out a theme which is picked up and added to by John and Thierry, who then give it back to Ray, only to change again and pass back and forth in the most beautiful musical conversation imaginable. This goes on all night – through three sets, and I notice as I look around the room, many of the patrons who were there even before the start of the show are still in their places… but now, they’re smiling. The music on stage is so alive; the energy just flows out into the room and everyone’s digging it!

I take a break in between sets to catch my breath and have a look outside. The rain is relentless, but another bus arrives with more “jazz-ers.” As they enter the club, those already inside are motioning them to join the party, declaring, “These guys are @#!*ing great! You’re gonna love them!” Back inside, I have a chance to chat with drummer, Thierry Arpino and ask what it’s like playing with Ray. His response; “Ray’s a trip! You’ve got to be ready for everything!”

The band returns to the stage and now couples are spontaneously getting up on their feet dancing. In response to Ray’s incredible riffs, a man next to me is repeating, “Yeah, man… Go! Alright,” and laughing in joy of the sheer artistry. The woman sitting at my right says, “I can’t believe the amount of music coming off that stage for just three players!” And so it goes non-stop all the way to the end of the program. It’s about 1:30 and I’m both exhausted and exhilarated!

There were so many highlights, it’s hard to single one out, but I’d have to say that a very funky arrangement entitled Stax, Ray’s tribute to the recording company that produced the music of many of his early influences, drew an outstanding ovation from the crowd, as did the very loose, upbeat treatment of several Ray Charles classics. Exciting new material (you can hear music clips on Ray’s website at www.raygomez.com) included “The Woman I Love” and “Parade,” and Ray delivered what many of his long-time fans wanted to hear most, his searing riff from “West Side Boogie.”

Ray Gomez truly took Cabanas by storm and hopefully will return to the area some time soon to play again – Performances like this are too far and few between!

...SIMPLY FANTASTIC!