Ray Obiedo is the anti-Zelig of the Bay Area music scene.
Let me explain. Unlike Woody Allen's title character, who appears within the 1983 documentary within the midst of 1 iconic historical moment after one other, Obiedo has been at the center of creative ferment for five a long time. Rather than fading into the background, the guitarist, composer, arranger and producer is usually the straw that breaks the camel's back.
North Bay singer-songwriter Chloé Jean is the most recent tall, cool drink of water to be inspired by Obiedo. A former model for New York's Ford agency, she's been reintroducing herself to the Bay Area music scene since last yr's release of “Fairy Tale Fail,” a striking session that alternates between her R&B-influenced originals and her simmering soul interpretations of standards like “Cry Me a River” and “Blue Skies.”
Jean will appear in a series of performances with the Ray Obiedo Group this month, including on the Sound Room in Oakland on August 17, on the Keys Jazz Bistro in North Beach on August 23 and 24, and on the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz on August 29.
Obiedo credits veteran Vallejo music impresario Jeff Trager for introducing him to Jean, whom he had heard at open mic sessions at No Name Bar in Sausalito. “I watched some of her videos of duos and small gigs and thought, 'She sounds good!'” he recalls.
When they met to speak, Obiedo said he would really like to supply an album that recast her in a small jazz group, “as a very sophisticated R&B singer, like indie.Aire, neo-soul, if you will. We did the Billie Eilish cover of 'Bad Guy,' but it was 'Cry Me a River' that went to No. 11 on the JazzWeek radio charts. For a first release, that's pretty amazing.”
Jean grew up in Sacramento and was fascinated by music from an early age and loved to jot down songs. She was an actual athlete, ran track at UC Berkeley and sang within the university's gospel choir. “One of my best experiences in college,” she says.
She also began working as a background singer “and eventually became a lead singer in wedding bands and Top 40 groups,” she said. “I also knew that wasn't for me. I really enjoy writing my own songs.”
At the identical time, she was discovered by a modeling agency and worked for years on photo shoots and catwalks, often for sportswear. In her late 20s, when she had two children, music took a transparent back seat.
A breast cancer diagnosis in 2016, which was repeated in 2020, pushed her musical ambitions even further into the background until she met Obiedo last yr, “when I got back to music and could do what I love,” she said.
Obiedo has surrounded her with top-notch jazz musicians like pianist Peter Horvath and bassist Dan Feiszli, while also introducing her to old-school masters like Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett, in addition to online maestros like Jacob Collier.
She embraces the brand new sounds as if her “heart is still in R&B and funk, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott and Lauryn Hill,” she said. “I think the reason these jazzers like working with me so much is because I'm not exclusively jazz. It comes across a little bit differently.”
It's no wonder Obiedo was drawn to Jean's sound, as he has all the time found inspiration in a wide selection of sounds and styles. The Richmond native has played Latin jazz with Pete Escovedo, soul jazz with Johnny “Hammond” Smith and experimental post-bop with trombone grandmaster Julian Priester.
He's been elbow-deep in East Bay grease with Headhunters drummer Bill Summers and served as a musical muse for girls's music pioneers Holly Near, Teresa Trull and Linda Tillery, whom he'll join with the East Bay Allstars at Freight & Salvage on Sept. 1 to rejoice her 76th birthday.
He just released his own latest album, Twist, a typically sprawling affair with grooves that range from Brazil to the Caribbean, featuring Jean's vocals on several tracks, in addition to longtime collaborators Michelle Hawkins, Lilan Kane, Leah Tysse, Sandy Cressman and Sheila E.
Because Obiedo covers a lot musical ground, it has develop into difficult for some critics to define him precisely, but to essentially the most attentive observers, his obvious contributions were unmistakable.
“He should be in the Bay Area Hall of Fame,” said Tim Jackson, Kuumbwa's artistic director, who made sure to book Obiedo's Latin jazz project in his final season as director of the Monterey Jazz Festival. “He has played in every genre and makes every musical situation better.”
RAY OBIEDO GROUP
Performance with singer Chloe Jean
When and where: August 17, 7:30 p.m. at Sound Room, Oakland; $30; www.soundroom.org; August 23-24, 7 and 9 p.m. at Keys Jazz Bistro, San Francisco; $35; keysjazzbistro.com; August 29, 7 p.m. at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz; $18.50-$36.75; www.kuumbwajazz.org
Originally published:
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