Ray Anthony

Ray Anthony's musical rebirth over the past 15 years as leader of the Albuquerque , NM based ensemble Ray Anthony & PowerSlyde is a classic example of the reality that , no matter how far or how long one strays from their musical dreams and destiny , the passion can always return. The multi - talented composer , producer and trombonist's professional career got of to a quick , grooving start right out of high school , with him joining the horn section of and hitting the road with a seven piece funk band based out of Chicago. For a grip of action packed years he  and the group played an average of six nights a week in and around the windy city and toured the Midwest and South. Economic changes in the industry back then led to budget cutbacks at popular venues, and when the band could no longer afford a horn section , Anthony returned to the Southwest. At that time it made more economical sense to build a life outside of music , building a steady career in the electric utility business , serving for many years as a high voltage substation electrician journeyman while rasing a wonderful family. Decades later , in 2007 , taking stock of how technology was changing the music industry of the downloading era and the new ways fans were experiencing music , Anthony dusted off his horn , bought a keyboard and started writting music. While getting his playing chops back up to speed , he reached out to former bandmates he had played with back in the day. In addition to the handful who were interested in making music again , Anthony invited other local players he knew to be part of his PowerSlyde project. The band developed into a popular regular performing act , gigging several times a month for years until the pandemic. Things are slowly getting up to speed again. Considering the band's high energy urban jazz vibe , it was only a matter of time before top names in smooth jazz took notice. When Ray Anthony & PowerSlyde opened up a local concert for Steve Oliver , the # 1 Billboard charting guitarist was so impressed that he invited the group to his home studio to record their 2017 debut album  appropriately tited  (Have Fun) , with Oliver lending his hit - making skills. A few years down the road , the pandemic downtime gave Anthony time to gather tunes for a follow - up EP. Another multiple # 1 smooth jazz guitarist and producer, Nils , caught the trombonist attention via Nil's weekly streaming Saturday night sessions. Not long after Anthony reached out to Nils and sent him the new tracks , the guitarist was on board and the two were sending music files back and forth , building tracks for Ray Anthony's new EP (U Got Dis ). The projects five tracks are written by Anthony (with additional composition by Nils) and produced by the guitarist , who adds his fresh rhythm and electric guitar energy and brings some of his A - list studio cats on board to bring the tunes  to the next level - including Nis on guitar , Johnny Britt (trumpet & rhodes)  Darryl Williams (bass) , Leon Bisquera  (rhodes & B3) , Oliver Brown (percussion) Gordon Campbell and Eric Valentine (drums).This makes Ray Anthony's explosive new EP (U Got Dis) an adventurous revelation , important not only because it introduces to fans a powerful and emotional , commercially viable and radio friendly voice on the insturment , but also because of the long history Anthony and his band bring to their local and regionsl scene. Produced by Nils and featuring some of Southern California's top smooth jazz studio cats , it's a spirited , infectous collection that should not only help Anthony realize his goal of getting on the radar of festival and venue talent buyers, but also estabish him as an impactful charting artist moving forward. " - Jonathan Widran