Raymond Shulman (born 8 December 1949) is a Scottish musician, and the youngest of three brothers in

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

. Shulman was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

. His father was a trumpet player in a jazz band, and that was the first instrument he learned to play. He went on to learn violin and guitar and was primed for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, but his brother Derek convinced him to join his band

Simon Dupree and the Big Sound Simon Dupree and the Big Sound were a British psychedelic band formed in 1966 by brothers Derek ( vocals), Phil (vocals, saxophone, trumpet), and Ray Shulman ( guitar, violin, trumpet, vocals); also known for their later prog rock band, Ge ...

, which later evolved into Gentle Giant. During Shulman's recording days in the band as a bass guitarist, his virtuosity often compared to popular players such as Yes's

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having ...

. Yet, like

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

Mike Rutherford Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members. Initially servin ...

, Shulman was quite adept at other instruments as well. Similar to the role of the rhythmist in the art-rock band

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Shulman sometimes doubled on violin, recorder, trumpet, acoustic and electric guitars. Shulman and keyboardist-bandmate Kerry Minnear composed or co-wrote much of the music for Gentle Giant. Shulman was in Gentle Giant from the beginning in 1970 to the last tour in 1980. He went on to become a record producer in the late 1980s and 1990s, working with

the Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes ( Icelandic: Sykurmolarnir) were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Bene ...

, the Sundays, the

Trash Can Sinatras Trashcan Sinatras are a Scottish band that were formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986. The band's music makes frequent use of pop harmonies and wordplay. History Formation The band members met through the club/pub music scene in Irvine. The ...

, and Ian McCulloch, The Defects among others. He also has created music for several video games, such as Privateer 2 and Azrael's Tear and released two trance-EPs under pseudonym Head-Doctor. Ray8strings

References

1949 births Living people Male bass guitarists Scottish bass guitarists British rock violists Progressive rock musicians Simon Dupree and the Big Sound members 20th-century bass guitarists Progressive rock bass guitarists 21st-century British guitarists Gentle Giant members 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians 20th-century violists 21st-century violists {{Scotland-musician-stub