Brian Wray was a veteran Canadian musician and musical arranger. He had been a member of three major Canadian bands,

Natural Gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

in the late 1960s, Motherlode and

Truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

in the early 1970s. He also worked with

Lisa Hartt Lisa Hartt is a Canadian singer and Juno Award nominee. She was the lead singer of The Lisa Hartt Band during the 1970s. They had a hit with "Old Time Movies". As a solo artist, she also had a radio hit with the single "Touch Me". Background Lisa ...

Freedom North Freedom North was a Canadian rock group that was active in the 1970s. Recording for Aquarius Records, they had hits with "Doctor Tom" and "Losing You". Background The group had evolved from a previous group called The Munks who were around from ...

Moe Koffman Morris "Moe" Koffman, OC (28 December 1928 – 28 March 2001) was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s, Koffman was one of Canada's most prolific musician ...

, David Johannesson and other artists. In later years he moved more towards the

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 majo ...

genre.

Background

Born Brian Francis Wray, coming from Montreal, he was an organ & piano player. He was once a member of the group Five of a Kind which also had a pre- Mashmakhan Brian Edwards in their line up. While he was a member of

, he arranged the track "

Eleanor Rigby "Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album '' Revolver''. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with " Yellow Submarine". The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to ...

", and arranged the band's hit " All Powerful Man". He had played piano and handled the horn arrangements on Freedom North's self-titled album that was released in 1970. He also played keyboards in Canadian singer, Lisa Hartt's first band. Like former Truck members,

Larry Ernewein Larry Ernewein is an active jazz musician and a pilot. During the 1970s he was a member of the Canadian jazz-rock group, Truck. He is also the owner, operator of Innerkip Aerodrome. He is also a judge and competitor in aerobatic competitions. Bac ...

and

Sandy MacKay Sandy MacKay was a politician in the State of Michigan. Biography MacKay was born Alexander MacKay on January 13, 1881 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1901 he married Cora E. Winslow, who died in 1919. On July 7, 1924 he married Anna Bowman. MacKay ...

(When the band was called

Sound Spectrum In the physical sciences, the term ''spectrum'' was introduced first into optics by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, referring to the range of colors observed when white light was dispersed through a prism. Soon the term referred to a plot o ...

), Wray's later in life preference was playing jazz.

Career

1960s to 1970s

;Five of a Kind During the 1960s, Brian Wray was in the group Five of a Kind which also had a pre- Mashmakhan Brian Edwards in their line up. ;Natural Gas He joined George Olliver's group

in May, 1969. In January, 1970 while Natural Gas were playing at the Laugh In on Victoria Street, Montreal, the group surprisingly played the "2001: A Space Oydessy" theme. Wrays keyboard playing was noted in an article, "Natural Gas a natural treat" by ''The Gazzette'' with the writer saying ''"he plays piano and organ like a man who's being doing it for a long time"'' adding ''" adds just the right touch to the band"''. While in the band he played piano, organ, flute and added his vocals to the recordings. He did the arrangements on the A side of the single, " All Powerful Man" bw "What Do You Want From My Life" which was released on Firebird FR 1806. The single got to #76 on May 9, 1970, spending seven weeks in the Canadian charts. It also at #12 on the Top 50 Canadian Content chart on the same date. Their album that featured his arrangements on four tracks (two of them co-arrangements), got into the Canadian Top 10. It also made the Top 50 in the United States. ;Motherlode By March 1971, he was a member of the fifth version of Motherlode. The line up also included Dave Berman (saxophone), Brian Dewhurst (drums), Gerry Legault (bass, vocals), Joey Roberts aka

Joey Miquelon Graham Lear (born July 24, 1949) is an English-born Canadian rock drummer, best known for his time with Gino Vannelli, Santana and REO Speedwagon. He was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom. Background In 1952 his family moved to London, Ontario, ...

(guitar). They didn't get around to recording any material and became part of

with the addition of

Graham Lear Graham Lear (born July 24, 1949) is an English-born Canadian rock drummer, best known for his time with Gino Vannelli, Santana and REO Speedwagon. He was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom. Background In 1952 his family moved to London, Ontario, ...

. ;Truck In 1972, and now a member of Truck, he was part of the lineup which also included

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, Joey Miquelon, Mike Curtis and Graham Lear. He composed the A side for the group's second single, "Get It Together" bw "Can't Wait (Until Tomorrow)", released on Capitol 72687 in 1972. The B side was composed by James O. Roberts. In early March, "Get it Together" was getting spun on Ron Moore's play list at

Radio Western CHRW-FM (branded as Radio Western) is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 94.9 FM in London, Ontario. It is licensed as a community-based campus radio station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The station ...

in London, while "Can't Wait Until Tomorrow" (the B side) was getting play on Ron Foster's play list at CKLW-FM in Windsor. By mid-March, "Get It Together" was on John Oliver's play list at CHEC in Lethbridge. The following week it was in the "Breakout Markets" section and on Ted Hayward's playlist at CJCJ Woodstock. He also played on the album ''

'' which wasn't released until 1973. He co-wrote the opening track, "Rollin's On My Mind" with Graham Lear. The album entered the RPM100 Albums Chart at #100 on April 21, 1973. and at #85 was still charting on May 26th. At some stage in 1973, he left the band and was replaced by Gord McKinnon who was from the group

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. ;Further activities In 1975, he was part of vocalist / flautist Jesse Foster's backing group that also included drummer Jim Norman, guitarist Mike Rodden and electric bassist Keith Jones. Their set called "Life Is Colour" was performed at the Percussion Festival, held at St. Pauls Annex Theatre in Toronto on June 29th.

1980s to 1990s

He played synthesizer on Moe Koffman's 1982 album, ''If You Don't Know Me by Now...'', released in Canada on

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

XE1-60046. The album which was produced by

Domenic Troiano Domenic Michele Antonio Troiano (January 17, 1946 – May 25, 2005) was a Canadian guitarist and songwriter, best known as a member of Mandala, Bush, James Gang, and The Guess Who. He also recorded music for film and television, often made guest a ...

got a good review with Andy Gemza of ''Medium II'' saying that Brian Wray played superbly, finding a niche within the band which enabled him to be exploratory on the keyboards without taking taking anything away from the traditional jazz feel that is the norm for a Moe Koffman album. He added piano to Ralph Foster's ''Voice of Elvis'' album that was released in 1994. Along with vocalists Rena Gaile and Debbie Flemming, guitarist Brian Legere, bassist Jim Morgan, saxophonist John Macmurchy, Wray was one of the session men on David Johannesson's blues/rock album, ''Hard Times'' which was released on Mighty Joe Music MJM-CD111 in 1998.

2000s

In December, 2000, his group, The Brian Wray Jazz Trio was appearing at The Rex Jazz Bar. In June 2001, they were appearing at the Montreal Bistro. He helped with the arrangements on Canadian jazz singer, Carol McCartney's ''Be Cool'' album that was released in 2014.

Death

According to George Olliver's post on 12 March 2019 at his George Olliver R&B/Blues Facebook page, Brian Wray had died.Facebook, George Olliver R&B/Blues
Brian Wray our keyboardist for NATURAL GAS has passed
/ref>

Discography (selective)

References

External links

Discogs:Brian Wray

Truck - "Get It Together" composed by Brian Wray

Truck - "Rollin's on My Mind" arranged by Brian Wray
* Retired Canadian Youtube channel
Natural Gas entire LP, 1970, First song "All Powerful Man" Arr. Brian Wray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Brian 20th-century births 2019 deaths Canadian flautists Canadian jazz flautists Canadian rock keyboardists Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian pianists Canadian jazz pianists Canadian jazz musicians Canadian organists Canadian rock pianists Canadian music arrangers Canadian male composers Natural Gas (musical group) members Motherlode (band) members Truck (Canadian band) members