Ray Obiedo is an American smooth jazz

Smooth jazz

Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....

 guitarist.

Obiedo grew up in Richmond, California

Richmond, California

Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...

, and began playing guitar at age 17. Initially he played both jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and R&B, appearing on record with Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

, Julian Priester

Julian Priester

Julian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...

, and Sheila E.

Sheila E.

Sheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American drummer and percussionist, perhaps best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...

. He was the leader of jazz fusion

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...

 group Kick and the rock band Rhythmus 21. In 1989 he signed with Windham Hill, with whom he would release five albums in eight years.

As leader

• Perfect Crime (Windham Hill, 1989)
• Iguana (Windham Hill, 1990) U.S. Top Contemporary Jazz Albums #10
• Sticks & Stones (Windham Hill, 1993) U.S. Contemporary Jazz #7
• Zulaya (Windham Hill, 1995) U.S. Contemporary Jazz #22M
• Sweet Summer Days (Windham Hill, 1997)
• The Modern World (Domo Records
  Domo Records
  Domo Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. Domo Records was established in 1993 by Ei'ichi Naito, a record producer and engineer...
  
  , 1999)

As sideman

With Julian Priester

Julian Priester

Julian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...

• Polarization
  Polarization (album)
  Polarization is an album by American jazz trombonist and composer Julian Priester recorded in 1977 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Richard S...
  
  (ECM, 1977)