by John Coleman
Fighting the weekend traffic, I made it barely in time for the end of John Jorgenson’s set, which was regrettable, as the little bit I was able to catch sounded very sweet. Ray Gomez was placed in the Friday / 6:00 p.m. time slot, and despite the crowd just arriving, Ray gave his customary no-holds-barred performance – A full set of awesome original music, (and a single Beatles tune, “Ticket To Ride,” for a little added icing on the cake!)
At the outset of the concert, Ray mentioned that he hoped his recent bout of tendonitis would not affect his playing. What tendonitis?!! Not a single note of “Westside Boogie” was skipped, blurred or misplaced to any degree and as always, it was a thrill to hear this masterpiece played live onstage!
Another high point of the concert repertoire was the tune, “Everybody’s Looking For Love.” Ray intro’d the piece saying, “We’re gonna do something sweet… Then, maybe it’ll turn into something else – God knows what!” And that, it did. This guitarist’s music never behaves as one expects. A bluesy love song crescendos into the most tasteful fusion arrangement imaginable; every note rendered with blissful expressive tone and color.
Accompanying on bass was Frank Gravis, and on drums Lionel Cordew, both formidable New York artists whose playing perfectly complimented Ray’s guitar work.
The audience clearly enjoyed the all-too-rare local appearance of this brilliant guitarist and gathered around the stage at the end of the show to talk with Ray and express appreciation for the outstanding performance.
Aside from an exciting schedule of artists and bands playing the festival, Guitarbeque™ also features professional guitar workshops which run concurrently just across the street from the park at the Asbury Park Convention Hall & Paramount Theater. On Saturday, Ray instructed one such workshop where attendees were invited to “Bring out your best with creative instruction from Guitarist Extraordinaire, Ray Gomez, in which he explains and demonstrates how not to get stuck in the clichés and assists you in bridging the gaps between blues, jazz and rock with emphasis on the groove,”
…Talking with some participants after the workshop, it’s clear that Ray once again delivered the goods! “… A thoughtful and valuable lesson.” “…Rare opportunity to practice side-by-side with one of the greats.” …”You can’t get this kind of instruction from any book, video or DVD!”
Only in it’s second year, Guitarbeque™ is a fun festival with top talent that is worth noting on your calendar for next year. Hey, maybe we’ll be lucky enough to catch a repeat performance of Ray Gomez… Whad’ya say, Guitarbeque™?!