Ray Perry (February 25, 1915 – 1950) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. Perry was born in 1915 to a musical family and began playing the violin at a young age, while his brothers Joe and Bay became a baritonist and drummer, respectively. Perry sang during his violin solos, inspiring

Slam Stewart Leroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart (September 21, 1914December 10, 1987) was an American jazz double bass player, whose trademark style was his ability to bow the bass (arco) and simultaneously hum or sing an octave higher. He was a violinist before swi ...

to continue the practice on bass. He performed more frequently on

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

. He worked bread and butter gigs with the best in the business, including Dean Earl (1935), Clarence Carter (1937–39, not the R&B singer),

Blanche Calloway Blanche Dorothea Jones Calloway (February 9, 1902 – December 16, 1978) was an American jazz singer, composer, and bandleader. She was the older sister of Cab Calloway and was a successful singer before her brother. With a music career that spa ...

(1940), and

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

(1940–43). Despite his short career, Ray Perry worked with many jazz artists, including: *

Shadow Wilson Rossiere "Shadow" Wilson (September 25, 1919 – July 11, 1959) was an American jazz drummer. Much of Wilson's early work was with swing jazz orchestras. He played with Frankie Fairfax's Campus Club Orchestra in 1936, with Lucky Millinder in ...

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

(1946–47, 1950) *

Vernon Alley Vernon Alley (May 26, 1915 – October 3, 2004) was an American jazz bassist. Early life Alley was born in Winnemucca, Nevada, and played football in high school and college. His brother, Eddie Alley, was a drummer; they played together ...

J. C. Heard James Charles Heard (August 10, 1917 – September 27, 1988) was an American swing, bop, and blues drummer. Biography Heard was born in Dayton, Ohio and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. As a young child, he performed as a tap dancer in a ...

(1946) * Joe Newman *

Fred Beckett Fred Lee Beckett (January 23, 1917 – January 30, 1946) was an American jazz trombonist known for his work with the Lionel Hampton Big Band and other jazz groups. Beckett was born in 1917 in Nettleton, Mississippi and learned to play trombone ...

Sabby Lewis William Sebastian "Sabby" Lewis (November 1, 1914 in Middleburg, North Carolina – July 9, 1994) was an American jazz pianist, band leader, and arranger. Biography Lewis was born in Middleburg, North Carolina, United States, but was raised in Phi ...

(1948) *

Sir Charles Thompson Sir Charles Thompson, 1st Baronet (c.1740 – 17 March 1799) was a British naval officer. After long service in the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence and War of the First Coalition, he was John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, Admir ...

Irving Ashby Irving Conrad Ashby (December 29, 1920 – April 22, 1987) was an African-American jazz guitarist. Ashby was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and started playing guitar when he was nine. His career started in 1940 when he became a member of L ...

Many of his records failed to gain a wide following, but he was very successful until poor health prevented him from touring. Two of Perry's albums remain popular - ''Jumpin' Jacquet'' and ''50 Sublimes Chanteurs de Jazz''. Some of his more famous songs are ''Flyin' Home'', ''How High the Moon'', ''Love is the Thing'', ''Boog It'', and ''I Want a Little Girl''.

References

1915 births 1950 deaths American jazz violinists American male violinists 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-violinist-stub