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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and

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

. 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 swit ...

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 Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

. 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 span ...

(1940), and

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

(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. He is also known as one of the w ...

(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 o ...

* J. C. Heard (1946) * Joe Newman * Fred Beckett *

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 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Thompson, 1st Baronet (c.1740 – 17 March 1799) was a British Royal Navy officer. After long service in the Seven Years' War, American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary Wars, he was second in command at the b ...

Irving Ashby Irving Conrad Ashby (December 29, 1920 – April 22, 1987) was an 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 Lionel Ha ...

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