At age 21, trumpeter and music director Kenny Rampton (of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) launched his touring career with a nine-month stint in Ray Charles’ band. Tonight, Rampton honors his former bandleader by presenting the most authentic Ray Charles experience possible. The band is full of Ray Charles alumni, the set lists are faithful recreations of actual Ray Charles sets, and the charts are transcribed from the original tour music. In addition to heart-stopping vocals by The Raelettes–Charles’ historic group of female singers–the rhythm section is composed almost entirely of distinguished vocalists who will sing both together and individually, including blues guitar legend Bill Sims, 2012 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition winner Jamison Ross, and two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist Diane Schuur, who shared a personal kinship with Charles. Charles’ ingenious synthesis of gospel, jazz, blues, and country music made him one of the most important American musical figures of the 20th century, and this one-of-a-kind celebration will likewise go down in history.

Free pre-concert discussion, nightly, at 7pm.