by Jen Shark
Daily Lobo
It was impossible to find a seat at Scalo Northern Italian Grill Monday night.
The crowd was there to see trumpet player Justin Ray perform for the release party of his self-titled debut album.
"There are seven tunes on the record, and I wrote five of them," Ray said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Ray was in town on tour with singer Michael BublÇ.
"He is a great combination of the history of trumpet and the innovation of personal ideas," said Rob Wilkerson, alto saxophone player of BublÇ's band.
Many of his friends and admirers came along to support Ray's release. Kent Erickson, Ray's first trumpet teacher, said Justin is very dedicated and practices a lot.
"I've seen him do a lot of hard work," Erickson said. "It has been phenomenal to see his progress."
UNM sophomore Ryan Monta§o, a jazz trumpet player, said he was blown away the first time he heard Ray.
"He's definitely a role model," Monta§o said. "He's a big reason why I'm still playing the trumpet today."
The 31-year-old Ray grew up in Albuquerque and attended Del Norte High School. He went on to study music for a year at UNM, then transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating from Berklee, Ray moved to the West Coast to complete his master's degree at the University of Southern California.
Ray has played in many jazz groups and has made appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."
UNM music professor Bruce Dalby came to see Ray as well.
"Justin is the next in succession of stellar tradition jazz trumpet players coming out of Albuquerque," Dalby said.
Justin Ray is Ray's first solo CD. Ray has played on other albums such as BublÇ's Come Fly With Me. Ray worked on his debut album for two months, recording in New York.
"Once the ball started rolling, it went quickly," Ray said.
With the recording completed, Ray said he is relieved to be done.
"It was a stressful process, but it worked out OK," he said.
Ray chose Scalo for his release party because he used to attend its Tuesday night jam sessions where local jazz players came to play together.
"I live like two blocks away," Ray said. "I come and jam here all the time. I like the environment."
A few of BublÇ's band members accompanied Ray in his performance.
"We had a night off, so this is how we spent it," said guitarist Randy Napoleon. Drummer Robert Perkins was also there to perform with Ray on Monday night. Perkins and Ray went to graduate school together at USC.
"Justin is a very aggressive trumpet player and musician," Perkins said. "He encourages a lot of energy."
Local musician Stu MacAskie played organ for Ray on Monday. He has performed in multiple jam sessions with Ray at Scalo. Ray called MacAskie and invited him to perform.
"I was very honored to be asked to play with these great musicians," MacAskie said.
The first half of Ray's show at Scalo was material from his new CD. BublÇ made a special appearance to sing one song with the band. The second half was like any other Tuesday night jam session. Friends and other members of BublÇ's band had their chance to play along.
After BublÇ's tour ends in August, Ray will be moving to New York to pursue his solo career.
"I feel this is the next logical step," Ray said. "I want to be a jazz solo musician, and New York is the center of the jazz world."
