Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles
Encyclopedia
Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles is a 2011 live
tribute album
to American singer and pianist Ray Charles
. Recorded by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson
, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis
, and jazz singer Norah Jones
. The songs were recorded during two concerts at the Rose Theater
, between February 9–10, 2009.
The second album of Nelson and Marsalis together after their 2007 concert at Lincoln Center, it was released on May 29, 2011. The album received mixed reviews, in which the instrumentation of Marsalis' orchestra was praised by the critics.
, released the next year. The album held the number one position in the Billboard Jazz Albums chart for four weeks. Nelson and Marsalis joined again in 2009 along with Norah Jones for a series of two concerts, at the Rose Theater, on February 9 and February 10. The recordings were released on March 29, 2011.
rated the release with four stars out of five, music critic wrote: "Ray Charles surely would have admired the inventive and lively jazz-drenched arrangements accompanying many of his standards, including “Hit the Road Jack,” “Busted,” “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” “Unchain My Heart” and “Cryin’ Time." Rolling Stone
praised Nelson's and Jones' duet of Buck Owens
' Crying Time
, while criticized the abundance of solos between Nelson and Marsalis' band: "(Here We Go Again) feels like a missed opportunity. Nelson's nylon-stabbing guitar is too scarce here, giving way to Marsalis' jazz band, a slick cast that rotates solos exhaustively." The Texas Monthly
also criticized the arrangements: "applying Willie’s offhand cool and Jones’s trademark reserve to the genius’s hits, particularly his blistering soul classics, makes about as much sense as asking Tony Bennett to cover the Butthole Surfers [...] Here We Go Again is full of arrangements that take the wrong fork in the road. The expert musicianship of Marsalis’s working band overthinks and dulls down almost every tune."
The Daily Telegraph
rated it with four stars out of five. Praising Nelson, Marsalis and Jones as well as the backing band the critic stated "They have done Ray Charles proud". Meanwhile, the Austin Chronicle
rated the album with two stars out of five, critic Jay Trachtenberg wrote: "Despite boasting favorites from Charles repertoire including "Cryin' Time," "Busted," and "Hit the Road Jack," this summit never clicks, perhaps a result of the one-off nature of the project making it hard for the musical personalities to fully gel". The New Zealand Herald wrote: "While they may seem like a funny couple, with the deft precision and style of Marsalis seemingly at odds with Nelson's more unkempt delivery, it actually works".
Allmusic wrote: "With Charles' standards like "Hallelujah I Love Her So", "Cryin' Time", "Hit the Road Jack", "Busted", "Makin' Whoopie", and his iconic signature hit, "What'd I Say" all sounding comfortable and fresh. The only thing missing is Ray Charles himself, who undoubtedly would have had no trouble fitting into these shows. Radio now splits everything into little niches. That isn’t what Charles was about. He saw music as convergence. This fine concert album plays in that same spirit".
Pop Matters delivered a mixed review, praising the team of Nelson, Marsalis and Jones, but criticized the performance of the songs, indicating that consisted only of an all-star lineup that did not applied a new perspective to Charles' recordings: "The problem is that this record is just exactly what you would think it would be. Nelson breezes through his tunes with cavalier grace, and Jones is a stylish vamp. Marsalis’s quintet delivers with professional mastery, giving every tune what would be expected. But the whole never really rises above the sum of its parts, and no one ever tries to teach us something new about these tunes. [...] Not that hearing these voices on great tunes doesn’t thrill. It does. [...] What’s missing is some element of risk or sacrifice".
BBC
wrote a mixed review, remarking the instrumental work: "Marsalis and company don’t exactly hit the bull’s-eye every time on this recording of the event. And what’s most apparent, sadly, is that Nelson’s vocal deficiencies grow more obvious every year. Some might argue that his weathered voice has gained in character what it has lost in strength and range, but my ears tell me otherwise [...] On the plus side, the Marsalis band compensates quite adequately for occasional lacklustre vocals, navigating the various nooks and crannies of Charles’ eclectic songbook with just the right combination of jazz and pop smarts. [...] Thanks largely to the instrumental work, there’s a satisfying amount of entertainment value on this release – even if major revelations are not forthcoming." The review also noted that while Jones added "style and panache" to both jazz ("Come Rain or Come Shine", "Makin' Whoopee") and country ("Here We Go Again
") songs she sat out most rhythm and blues songs.
Source: Blue Note Records
Source: Blue Note Records
Arrangements by Sherman Irby
(1), Richard DeRosa (2, 10), Victor Goines
(3, 4), Jackson (5), Vincent Gardner
(6), Marsalis (7, 11), Christopher Crenshaw (8), Andy Farber (9, 12).
-exclusive edition (50999 0 26725 2 6/B2-26725) has three bonus tracks appended to the end of the album: "You Don't Know Me" (4:45), "You Are My Sunshine
" (6:26), and "That's All" (6:04).
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
to American singer and pianist Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
. Recorded by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, and jazz singer Norah Jones
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
. The songs were recorded during two concerts at the Rose Theater
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
, between February 9–10, 2009.
The second album of Nelson and Marsalis together after their 2007 concert at Lincoln Center, it was released on May 29, 2011. The album received mixed reviews, in which the instrumentation of Marsalis' orchestra was praised by the critics.
Background and recording
Nelson and Marsalis played together for the first time in 2007 at The Allen Room in Lincoln Center, which resulted in the critically acclaimed album Two Men with the BluesTwo Men with the Blues
Two Men with the Blues is a live album by multiple Grammy Award winners Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. This album was released on July 8, 2008 on the Blue Note label. This album sold 22,000 copies in it first week of release...
, released the next year. The album held the number one position in the Billboard Jazz Albums chart for four weeks. Nelson and Marsalis joined again in 2009 along with Norah Jones for a series of two concerts, at the Rose Theater, on February 9 and February 10. The recordings were released on March 29, 2011.
Reception
The Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
rated the release with four stars out of five, music critic wrote: "Ray Charles surely would have admired the inventive and lively jazz-drenched arrangements accompanying many of his standards, including “Hit the Road Jack,” “Busted,” “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” “Unchain My Heart” and “Cryin’ Time." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
praised Nelson's and Jones' duet of Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
' Crying Time
Crying Time
"Crying Time" is a song from 1964 written by country music artist Buck Owens.Owens recorded a version of his song, but it failed to reach the music charts. A cover version of "Crying Time" was then recorded by R&B singer Ray Charles, and his version proved to be a hit...
, while criticized the abundance of solos between Nelson and Marsalis' band: "(Here We Go Again) feels like a missed opportunity. Nelson's nylon-stabbing guitar is too scarce here, giving way to Marsalis' jazz band, a slick cast that rotates solos exhaustively." The Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
also criticized the arrangements: "applying Willie’s offhand cool and Jones’s trademark reserve to the genius’s hits, particularly his blistering soul classics, makes about as much sense as asking Tony Bennett to cover the Butthole Surfers [...] Here We Go Again is full of arrangements that take the wrong fork in the road. The expert musicianship of Marsalis’s working band overthinks and dulls down almost every tune."
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
rated it with four stars out of five. Praising Nelson, Marsalis and Jones as well as the backing band the critic stated "They have done Ray Charles proud". Meanwhile, the Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
rated the album with two stars out of five, critic Jay Trachtenberg wrote: "Despite boasting favorites from Charles repertoire including "Cryin' Time," "Busted," and "Hit the Road Jack," this summit never clicks, perhaps a result of the one-off nature of the project making it hard for the musical personalities to fully gel". The New Zealand Herald wrote: "While they may seem like a funny couple, with the deft precision and style of Marsalis seemingly at odds with Nelson's more unkempt delivery, it actually works".
Allmusic wrote: "With Charles' standards like "Hallelujah I Love Her So", "Cryin' Time", "Hit the Road Jack", "Busted", "Makin' Whoopie", and his iconic signature hit, "What'd I Say" all sounding comfortable and fresh. The only thing missing is Ray Charles himself, who undoubtedly would have had no trouble fitting into these shows. Radio now splits everything into little niches. That isn’t what Charles was about. He saw music as convergence. This fine concert album plays in that same spirit".
Pop Matters delivered a mixed review, praising the team of Nelson, Marsalis and Jones, but criticized the performance of the songs, indicating that consisted only of an all-star lineup that did not applied a new perspective to Charles' recordings: "The problem is that this record is just exactly what you would think it would be. Nelson breezes through his tunes with cavalier grace, and Jones is a stylish vamp. Marsalis’s quintet delivers with professional mastery, giving every tune what would be expected. But the whole never really rises above the sum of its parts, and no one ever tries to teach us something new about these tunes. [...] Not that hearing these voices on great tunes doesn’t thrill. It does. [...] What’s missing is some element of risk or sacrifice".
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
wrote a mixed review, remarking the instrumental work: "Marsalis and company don’t exactly hit the bull’s-eye every time on this recording of the event. And what’s most apparent, sadly, is that Nelson’s vocal deficiencies grow more obvious every year. Some might argue that his weathered voice has gained in character what it has lost in strength and range, but my ears tell me otherwise [...] On the plus side, the Marsalis band compensates quite adequately for occasional lacklustre vocals, navigating the various nooks and crannies of Charles’ eclectic songbook with just the right combination of jazz and pop smarts. [...] Thanks largely to the instrumental work, there’s a satisfying amount of entertainment value on this release – even if major revelations are not forthcoming." The review also noted that while Jones added "style and panache" to both jazz ("Come Rain or Come Shine", "Makin' Whoopee") and country ("Here We Go Again
Here We Go Again (Ray Charles song)
"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. Its most notable cover version is the rhythm and blues music duet by Charles and Norah...
") songs she sat out most rhythm and blues songs.
Musicians
- Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
– Guitar (1–9, 12), Vocals (1, 3–9, 11, 12) - Wynton MarsalisWynton MarsalisWynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
– Arranger, Artistic Director, Trumpet, Vocals (6, 8, 12) - Norah JonesNorah JonesNorah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
– Guest Appearance, Vocals (2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12) - Dan Nimmer – Piano
- Carlos Henríquez – Bass
- Walter Blanding – Tenor saxophone, Vocals (6)
- Mickey RaphaelMickey RaphaelMichael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael is a professional harmonica player, best known for his work with Willie Nelson. He has recorded with Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Mötley Crüe, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Chesney, U2 and Neil Young.Raphael's style is mostly second...
– Harmonica - Ali JacksonAli Jackson (musician)Ali Jackson is a jazz drummer.His mother, a classical pianist, taught him piano at and how to read music at age 4. Jackson's father, a professional bass player, taught him music theory and gave him drums lesson from rudiment books. He attended Detroit's prestigious Cass Technical High School. He...
– Drums and percussion
Source: Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
Technicians
- Executive Producer – Mark Rothbaum
- Produced by – Jeff Jones "The Jedi Master" and Jazz at Lincoln CenterJazz at Lincoln CenterJazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
- Recorded by – Saundra Palmer-Grassi and Rob Macomber
- Mixed and Mastered by – Jeff Jones "The Jedi Master" at World Alert Music, NYC
- Assisted by – Evan Manners and Joanne Levey
- Music Copyists – Geoff Burke, Jonathan Kelly, Kate Sain
- Music Supervisors – Kay Niewood, Christianna English
Source: Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
Arrangements by Sherman Irby
Sherman Irby
Sherman Irby , was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He found his calling to music at age 12. In high school, he played and recorded with gospel immortal James Cleveland. He graduated from Clark Atlanta University with a B. A. in Music Education. In 1991, he joined Johnny O’Neal’s...
(1), Richard DeRosa (2, 10), Victor Goines
Victor Goines
Victor Goines is a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist and received his Masters in Music at Virginia Commonwealth University. Goines is the director of jazz studies at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. He previously served as first artistic director of the Juilliard School's jazz...
(3, 4), Jackson (5), Vincent Gardner
Vincent Gardner
Vincent Gardner is an American trombonist and composer.Gardner has released four albums on SteepleChase Records and also performs and records in a group with his brother, trumpeter Derrick Gardner....
(6), Marsalis (7, 11), Christopher Crenshaw (8), Andy Farber (9, 12).
Chart Performance
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Jazz Albums | 2 |
| Alben Top 75 (Austria) | 40 |
Track listing
A Barnes & NobleBarnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
-exclusive edition (50999 0 26725 2 6/B2-26725) has three bonus tracks appended to the end of the album: "You Don't Know Me" (4:45), "You Are My Sunshine
You Are My Sunshine
"You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state songs of Louisiana as a result of its association with former state governor and country music singer Jimmie Davis. The song is copyright 1940 Peer International Corporation, words and music by...
" (6:26), and "That's All" (6:04).