Ray Foxley - Professor's Choice

A previously unreleased album of solo recordings by the popular Trad Jazz ragtime pianist, Ray Foxley.Ray Foxley was one of a small number of piano players to gain a reputation on the Trad Jazz scene in the 1960s. He formed his first band in 1946 and worked with the early British Jazz legends Mick Mulligan, Mike Daniels, Chris Barber and, later, Rod Mason. He really came to the public notice when he joined Ken Colyer's Jazzmen in 1957. Although he only stayed three years the period was Colyer's heyday and his reputation as a Ragtime pianist grew. He worked on the continent for a few years and in the 1980s and 90s he saw a new lease of life on the Trad Jazz festival circuit and the Jazz theme weekends at holiday camps and hotels. He was a popular figure at these events until his death in 2002. This CD is a previously unreleased album he recorded in 1989 and comprises a large number of his own compositions. It was beautifully recorded on the superb Steinway Grand piano at Rosehill Theatre in the Lake District and shows him to be a pianist with more wide-ranging influences then just Ragtime. It is released as a tribute to Ray on the tenth anniversary of his death.