Master Trumpeter Ray Vega Moves To the Next Musical Chapter With The Newly Released, 'Chapter Two' On Truth Revolution Records Featuring: George Colligan - Piano, Phil Sparks - Bass and Matt Jorgensen - Drums For The First Time, Chapter Two Presents Ray Vega's Mastery Of The Straight-Ahead Jazz Idiom With New Original Music And Classic Jazz Standards Chapter Two marks a monumental point in the life and career of the legendary Latin jazz, mambo and salsa trumpeter Ray Vega. With this album's release, Vega makes a new name for himself yet again demonstrating that his talent reaches beyond the Latin and world music that he is best known for. A native to the South Bronx in New York City, Ray Vega entered the music scene in 1985 after leaving a career in private banking to pursue his passion of playing trumpet.Mentored by musicians like Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, and Mario Bauza among others,Vega supported some of the greatest Latin jazz acts and orchestras of all time. Then, in 1996, Vega proved himself as a band leader and a solo artist with the release of his first ground breaking solo record, quot;Ray Vegaquot;. quot;The story that I'm trying to convey (with Chapter Two) is that there is more to me than just my involvement with Latin music. This is my first recording as a sole leader where I am focusing completely on Jazz without the employment of Latin percussion instruments.quot; states Vega. His authenticity and knowledge of music knows no bounds, and with Chapter Two, Ray Vega shows his ability to fit right in with the settings of swing heroes like Miles Davis and Woody Shaw playing jazz classics to R&B hits. Vega's past work experience speaks for itself, as he has worked with a wide variety of notable musicians that include, but are not limited to artists like Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Mongo Santamaria, Kirk Franklin, Paul Simon and even the Vanguard and Duke Ellington Orchestras. More recently, he has also worked with composer Osvaldo Golijov, performing contemporary classical music, further proving his versatile musical prowess. His work and experience have earned him the title quot;legendaryquot; among todays trumpeters of the Salsa and Mambo idiom. His intricate and complete understanding of bebop and jazz improvisation has led many musicians to transcribe and study his soloing, particularly on such recordings with Ray Barretto and Mongo Santamaria. His uncanny ability to effortlessly improvise over complex chord changes as well as play an authentic rendition of the traditional Cuban trumpet style, Chappotin, has made him the easy choice when any artist is in need of a trumpeter that can play absolutely anything. Ten years after his last solo recording, Chapter Two reintroduces Ray Vega in a new light, and reveals what this master and his trumpet have to say about straight ahead jazz. This Thomas Merriot production opens up with the Woody Shaw composition, quot;Sweet Love of Minequot;. Ray's melodic phrasing accompanied by a Brazilian groove takes you on a exciting journey and makes you want to nod your head all the way to the end. The med-swing composition, quot;Dual Force,quot; initially composed by legendary bassist Buster Williams, features bassist Phil Sparks. Sparks takes the first solo, paying homage to the composer, masterfully implementing a casual yet purposeful style that would impress the Williams himself. The next track is the toe tapping classic, quot;It Could Happen To Youquot;. It opens with a melodic solo by pianist George Colligan, who also lends a
