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Clay Ross
Brooklyn based guitarist and composer Clay Ross is carving a unique niche for himself on the international music scene. His passion for music has taken him far from his South Carolina Roots and lead him to embrace influences from around the world. He has toured extensively as a U.S. Jazz Ambassador and as a member of Cyro Baptista’s world renowned percussion ensemble “Beat the Donkey.” With his new group, “Matuto,” Clay mixes the best of bluegrass and baiao for a sound like a carnival in the Appalachian mountains.
After studying classical composition at the College of Charleston, Clay became an integral part of the South Carolina jazz scene. Mixing elements of rock, blues, bluegrass, and funk, his original groups were highly praised in the local press and popular on the regional club circuit. With his bands “Otus,” “Gradual Lean,” and “Mickey Baker Project,” Clay developed his chops and shared the stage with national acts passing through.
After a brief move to Paris, and a few memorable performances in the Pigalle Squats, Clay moved to NYC in 2002. There, he honed his skills with the city’s most amazing young talents. He recorded and released the jazz quartet album “The Random Puller,” which featured nine original compositions. The album met with critical praise and won Ross invitations to perform internationally at clubs and concert halls in Rio De Janeiro, Istanbul, and Milan. It also helped him to secure regular performances at established NYC venues such as 55bar, Barbes, The Bar Next Door, and The Stone.
Shortly after arriving in NYC, Clay began exploring an increasing love for Brazilian Music. In 2004 he co-founded the “Agora Quartet,” a group that combines jazz and northeastern Brazilian rhythms. The group won the prestigious title of Latin Jazz Ambassadors through Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department and embarked on a U.S. sponsored tour through Macedonia, Kosovo, Greece, and Turkey. Based on the success of these tours, Clay was invited to return, not once, but twice, and used these opportunities to embrace the rich musical influences of the Balkans.
In 2005, Clay was invited to become a full time member of Cyro Baptista’s “Beat the Donkey,” and received critical praise for performances at major concert halls and music festivals around the world.
In 2007, Clay joined “Nation Beat,” at the Porto Musical Festival During Carnival in Recife, Brazil. There, he participated in an unprecedented cultural exchange between Nation Beat and the traditional “maracatu” percussion group Estrella Brillante. Clay is a featured guest on Nation Beat’s ground-breaking new album “Legends of the Preacher” (modiba), and is now helping to define a sound that combines Northeastern Brazilian Rhythms and American Folk.
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Ranky Tanky: Good Time
by Chris Mosey
Why change a winning formula? Ranky Tanky's follow-up to their hit debut album takes things further in the same vein: a heady mix of gospel and traditional Gullah songs from the Sea Islands of South Carolina, laced with original music and lyrics. The emphasis this time is on a pounding beat generated by the electric guitar of lone white man Clay Ross and the drumming of Quentin Baxter. Much of the music, especially Pay Me My Money ...
read moreRanky Tanky: Good Time
by John Bricker
The West African phrase Ranky Tanky roughly translates to get funky" or work it," according to the band's website. The band earns this title with danceable blends of gospel and jazz, celebrating the Gullah culture found in their home state of South Carolina. Although Good Time delivers more infectious energy than their self-titled debut, Ranky Tanky fails to leave a lasting impression due to weak arrangements and lackluster lyrics. In 2017, Ranky Tanky's first album introduced their unique ...
read moreRanky Tanky: Ranky Tanky
by Chris Mosey
Ranky Tanky are based in Charleston, South Carolina. They specialize in jazz-and blues-influenced arrangements of the traditional music of the Gullah people, who came from West Africa as slaves in the 19th century. They were brought to South Carolina's Low Country and Sea Islands to work on plantations where their knowledge of rice cultivation could be put to good use and where high humidity and mosquitoes made life unbearable for whites and blacks from elsewhere in Africa. Best-known descendant of ...
read moreRanky Tanky: Ranky Tanky
by James Nadal
Against all odds, the Gullah tradition prevails on the Sea Islands of South Carolina's Low Country. Maintaining their West African traditions and singular way of life for generations, their direct impact on African-American music is undeniable, and continues to be a vital source of inspiration. Combining revered Gullah kinship with a jazz sensibility, Ranky Tanky accentuates the spirituality connected to the ring shouts and praise houses, proposing a modern rendition of their ancestral music. Ranky Tanky loosely translates ...
read moreClay Ross: Matuto
by Greg Camphire
In Brazilian Portuguese, matuto signifies a backwoods country hillbilly. Guitarist, vocalist and South Carolina native Clay Ross knows a thing or two about these types of folks, and finds common ground between their counterparts across the equator on Matuto, his eclectic debut for Ropeadope Records. Ross is something of a polymath, handling guitar, vocals and lyrics as well as the Brazilian cavaquinho guitar and kashakas percussion. His vision for this project is unique; with a mix of ...
read moreGuitarist Clay Ross Debuts at the Legendary Blue Note Jazz Club
Source:
CHC Network
Guitarist, vocalist, and composer, Clay Ross makes his Blue Note debut on Friday, April 30th as part of the clubs Late Night Groove Series with his band Matuto. The South Carolina native and Brooklyn resident released an album of the same name late last August on Ropeadope Records. The album is a mix of originals and covers that melds many musical traditions under one big, open umbrella. Appalachian fiddle tunes bounce with a Northeastern Brazilian lilt while the one string ...
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Guitarist Clay Ross Celebrates His New Release "Matuto" at Joe's Pub on August 25
Source:
DL Media
Guitarist, Vocalist, and Composer Clay Ross Celebrates the Release of His Forthcoming Album Matuto With an Evening of Brazilian Carnival Meets Appalachia at Joe's Pub on August 25Clay Ross thinks like a poet, writes like a novelist, and plays the guitar like a master." - JambaseMatuto (ma-two-toe) is Brazilian slang for country bumpkin. Imagine the sound of a Brazilian Carnaval in the Appalachian Mountains. A sound where exotic percussion instruments rumble beneath blues drenched vocals, Telecaster ...
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August 26th, Clay Ross Quartet - CD Release Party at Detour
Source:
All About Jazz
“Sly, subtle wit colors his guitar style: playful and humorous but deeply complex.” Jambands.com
“Clay Ross thinks like a Poet, writes like a Novelist and plays the guitar like a Master.” Jammed Online
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