Doug Raney RIP

**Comeau** · 05-04-2016, 08:17 AM

There is another album from those sessions with Chet titled The touch of your lips

**Fred Archtop** · 05-04-2016, 03:38 PM

I am so sad it has happened. He was my hero. He has cut unbelievable tracks. I remember chasing his albums when I was 20. "Introducing DG", "Cuttin' Lose" and the following albums were so good, so deep. Jimmy, his father, was a true pioneer and genius, but in much aspects his music speaks more to my mind than to my heart. Doug had something different, much less abstraction, and an incredible sense of melody. Not to speak about his groove...he made me understand what "playing laid back" meant. To me, his chord playing also was by many aspects way ahead of his father (just listen to his trio on "guitar, guitar, guitar", and the albums cut with Chet and NHOP). He gave me so much. Thanks for having illuminated my life Doug !

**neatomic** · 05-04-2016, 04:41 PM

guitar guitar guitar is a great album..doug, his longtime drummer billy hart and the great mads vinding on bass...top shelf trio date

Doug Raney RIP-mi0001512915-jpg

cheers

**grahambop** · 05-04-2016, 06:01 PM

Here's a nice clip of Doug playing Billies Bounce, 1995:

**grahambop** · 05-04-2016, 06:06 PM

When Sunny Gets Blue:

**neatomic** · 05-04-2016, 06:15 PM

those are nice clips...posted to u-tube by dougs brother jon..with this info

Doug was on a visit to our ailing father who had suffered a stroke. Jimmy passed 5 months later in May of 1995.

looks like dougs playin a *gretsch!!!

two greats jimmy and doug raney..rip

cheers

**Nils** · 05-06-2016, 05:42 AM

Yeah, sad news. I just listened to 'Introducing DR' this morning - and it's still such an awe-inspiring record. So much an extension of his father's legacy but clearly also with his own voice. And to think that he recorded that when he was 21!

**neatomic** · 05-06-2016, 11:18 AM

yes nils agree..doug had just turned 21...in 1977...height of rock and punk rock era..(he was younger than most of them) and he starts his first solo lp with a coltrane track!!!...he wasn't foolin around!!...

cheers

**neatomic** · 05-07-2016, 06:05 PM

in 1993 doug came back to nyc...cut this lp- blues on a par...pictured with same gretsch guitar on cover as he used in the louisville dates (youtubes) above

great lp date...top band

cheers

**mr. beaumont** · 05-07-2016, 06:15 PM

Doug is the epitome of "tone is in the hands." He sounded exactly the same on any guitar, and he played quite a few different guitars over his career, from a coveted vintage Gibson to a $300 Ibanez.

He was so good. When he was young, I could barely tell him and his dad apart, except for by that time Jimmy was using a little "snappier" of a tone. But he developed into his own man. So incredibly underrated.

**neatomic** · 05-07-2016, 06:41 PM

been keepin doug in heavy listening rotation this week..rereading all the liner notes, some interesting bits

not surprisingly being a teenager in the late 60's-early 70's...his faves were initially clapton and hendrix

pat martino was one of his first jazz guitar heroes

he learned to play like his dad jimmy...from listening to his dads records!! (kinda sad)

what a great..and yes he always sounds good no matter what the gear

cheers

**Endorphins** · 05-08-2016, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by drmike

Another tragedy. Years ago, a guitarist that used to play with Doug's brother Jon confirmed that he had the same "personal issues" that have fallen too many jazz musicians. I can't find an official obit, other than Jon's comments, but read that he reportedly was homeless. Great playing. I have a handful of his CDs. Just saw that many of his recordings are available on Spotify!

Homeless and only 59. Poor guy.

**Nils** · 05-09-2016, 04:31 AM

If it's any consolation, as far as I know Doug wasn't homeless at the time of his death. According to my information, he lived at a residential care center here in Copenhagen for the last couple of years - that's also where he passed away.

Happened to listen to Denmark's Radio Broadcasting Corporation's jazz radio channel on Sunday. They devoted an hour to his music as a tribute. Time was when jazz had a much higher status as a mainstream art form here in Denmark, so it figured prominently in TV and radio on a daily basis. Hell, I recall that Joe Pass' passing was announced in the hourly news update of national radio here!! Unfortunately, times have changed and jazz (or for that matter any genre of live music that is played by people who actually master an instrument) is no longer considered of interest to the wider public...

**Endorphins** · 05-09-2016, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by Nils

If it's any consolation, as far as I know Doug wasn't homeless at the time of his death. According to my information, he lived at a residential care center here in Copenhagen for the last couple of years - that's also where he passed away.

That's better. Hope that he wasn't suffering more than he had to.

I've been enjoying some of his solo albums this week that I wasn't familiar with. I really only knew his duets with Jimmy.

**lawson-stone** · 05-09-2016, 10:36 AM

I've been puzzled over the homelessness matter. I thought that the Scandinavian countries had the one genuinely functional, effective socialized services system in Europe, and that health care, education, etc. were easily and readily available. So how could a person be homeless there? Or was that a brief period and then he was caught in the safety net of their excellent social services?

This isn't meant to be a political question, but a real one about Doug Raney and what actually happened to this man we all respect and venerate for his great music.

**mr. beaumont** · 05-09-2016, 11:15 AM

Well, I think you have to have to look at the definition of "homelessness" a little broader. It doesn't necessarily mean he was in a box on the street. But he may have been without an address of his own, and relying on the kindness of friends and such for a place to lay his head each night. It doesn't sound as bad, but it's very tough on the human spirit to live like that.

For a lot of people, it's a pride thing. I know firsthand actually, but that's a different story for a different day. But a lot of folks would rather handle things on their own and seek help in their circle rather than reach out for government services...because nobody likes to feel like they can't control their own life.

**Nils** · 05-09-2016, 12:35 PM

Lawson-stone: I'd rather not start going into too much detail about Doug's hardships. His brother, Jon, touches upon it on his website, and it is something rather private - for Doug as well as those he left behind - so I'd like to respect that as far as possible. If you haven't already visited Jon's site, here's the link:

Blog | The Raney Legacy

As for the Scandinavian welfare model: Well, although it does provide a relatively sound safety net, homelessness and other social problems do exist (and, I'm sad to say, have been on the rise over the last decade or so). And as Mr Beaumont points out, there will always be some who end up fending for themselves, regardless of how hard that may be.

**yaclaus** · 05-09-2016, 06:05 PM

Pictures from the funeral here, held at legendary venue Jazzhouse Montmartre:

https://www.facebook.com/jazzhusmontmartre/?fref=photo

**neatomic** · 05-09-2016, 07:04 PM

lazy bird lives!

cheers

**lawson-stone** · 05-10-2016, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Well, I think you have to have to look at the definition of "homelessness" a little broader. It doesn't necessarily mean he was in a box on the street. But he may have been without an address of his own, and relying on the kindness of friends and such for a place to lay his head each night. It doesn't sound as bad, but it's very tough on the human spirit to live like that.

For a lot of people, it's a pride thing. I know firsthand actually, but that's a different story for a different day. But a lot of folks would rather handle things on their own and seek help in their circle rather than reach out for government services...because nobody likes to feel like they can't control their own life.

I understand what you mean here, and this makes a lot of sense. I wasn't sure just how debilitated he had been at different stages of his life.

I also always thought people choosing to live in Scandinavian countries did so partly because they didn't feel anything was wrong with relying on the government for support. A lot of people genuinely believe that is what governments should do, and prefer to live in a society with a stronger social safety net. But I can see what you mean about how he probably had to live. It's still heart-breaking to think of such a great talent and so much suffering.

**lawson-stone** · 05-10-2016, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by Nils

Lawson-stone: I'd rather not start going into too much detail about Doug's hardships. His brother, Jon, touches upon it on his website, and it is something rather private - for Doug as well as those he left behind - so I'd like to respect that as far as possible. If you haven't already visited Jon's site, here's the link:

Blog | The Raney Legacy

As for the Scandinavian welfare model: Well, although it does provide a relatively sound safety net, homelessness and other social problems do exist (and, I'm sad to say, have been on the rise over the last decade or so). And as Mr Beaumont points out, there will always be some who end up fending for themselves, regardless of how hard that may be.

I certainly respect the desire not to have Doug Raney'[s personal problems aired around as if it's a reality TV show, and appreciate your sensitivity. I was just trying to understand a bit more of the context. It hurts to think of someone as brilliant as he was living out his last years so sadly.

**AlsoRan** · 05-10-2016, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by lawson-stone

I certainly respect the desire not to have Doug Raney'[s personal problems aired around as if it's a reality TV show, and appreciate your sensitivity. I was just trying to understand a bit more of the context. It hurts to think of someone as brilliant as he was living out his last years so sadly.

Thank goodness we don't have the spectacle that Prince's demise has brought.

Some have him pegged for Sainthood, while others are ripping him apart. What a spectacle it is becoming. And, you don't know who is telling the truth or just spreading lies.

RIP, Doug.

**Greentone** · 05-10-2016, 03:04 PM

Aw! I just saw this thread.

Raney, like his dad, was a great talent. I learned a ton from the Raneys. I will miss them both, now that Doug is gone.

Vis-a-vis discussion of Doug's lack of a stable home life...jazz is simply not a generous "alma mater"--I don't mean school, here, but nurturing mother (the original meaning in Latin). Jazz, in fact, is a stingy parent. Heck, the music business doesn't support its practitioners as it did before the software became widely downloadable. But...jazz was seemingly capable of supporting comfortably only a handful of musicians at any given time much after 1970. Maybe 1960.

Even a well known, reasonably well recorded act like Doug Raney will not have had career earnings that would provided him with a nice retirement. Many _names_ in the guitar jazz circle were on the road well into their 70s and 80s, not because they loved meeting a town's a-list musicians at the bandstand and playing sets based on calling out page numbers in the old "Real Book," but because they needed to pay the bills.

When jazz was coincident with the people's popular music form--i.e., the 20s through the 40s--it supported a much larger group of musicians than it does today. The same is true, today, of rock and roll. Rock in the 1960s and 1970s was the popular art form. Hundreds, or thousands of musicians could support themselves playing. Today, it is very difficult to make a living as a rock musician. Blues? Same thing.

Back to Raney. He genuinely had the goods. He did not, however, have the "brand" of Pat Metheny or John Scofield. That can spell the difference between living on a couch and living in a gated community. Come to think of it, I wonder how many guitarists in the 60s lived (on a couch somewhere) in the shadow of Wes' thumb (brand)?

We miss you, Doug.

**neatomic** · 05-10-2016, 08:28 PM

nor would i overestimate the financial success of wes montgomery...he died in his house in indianapolis..not park ave nyc or beverly hills...left behind a wife and seven kids!...he had just returned from a long tour......

his "commercial" albums with creed taylor may have sold well for a late 60's jazz artist..but those sales were in no way comparable to many established rock acts of the time...nor would his publishing rights been outstanding as creed t had him doing lot's of pop cover tunes

his only apparent vice though was smoking, which may have spared him some anguish, tho ultimately probably lead to his death in the long run anyway

moral of the story- jazz guitar, don't do it for the money..even benson had to sing

cheers

**sgcim** · 05-11-2016, 12:00 AM

Yeah, Benson was running a studio in the Bronx before he hit it big with his singing.
A trumpet player friend of mine was doing some recording session there, and they told him Benson was doing the recording out of a studio in his home, and he didn't even know who Benson was.