Doug Raney

Doug Raney: The Backbeat

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 1, 2000

Some how out of the lineage of significant jazz guitarists, the late Jimmy Raney gets left out of the mix. In equal fashion, it seems like his son Doug suffers from the same lack of awareness on the part of the general jazz public. Doug’s choice to reside in Denmark probably doesn’t help the recognition factor either. Fortunately, SteepleChase has chosen on several occasions to provide a recorded forum for the younger Raney’s creative muse.

Opting for a different line-up ...

Doug Raney: New Videos From Spain

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 5, 2023

I've posted on guitarist Doug Raney multiple times in the past. Doug was the son of guitar great Jimmy Raney. Father and son performed as a duo in Europe in 1977. After they toured, Doug moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he lived until his death in 2016 at age 59. As Doug's younger brother, Jon Raney, told me shortly after Doug's death: Doug was struggling with prior drug addiction and was on the program for a long time. But it ...
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Doug Raney: New York Visits

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 2, 2021

In 1977, 20-year-old guitarist Doug Raney was touring Europe with his father, guitarist Jimmy Raney. Doug fell in love with the soul there and appreciation of club audiences and decided to move to Copenhagen at age 21. That's where he began his recording career and that's where he remained until his death at 59 in 2016. He made only a few trips back to the States, in 1993 and 1996. In the first case, I suspect he returned to visit ...
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Doug Raney: Meeting the Tenors

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 1, 2021

In April 1983, guitarist Doug Raney, son of guitar great Jimmy Raney and a stunning player in his own right, assembled quite a sextet at the studios of Criss Cross Records in the Netherlands. Joining Raney were two tiger tenor saxophonists—Dutch player Ferdinand Povel and Swedish hornman Bernt Rosengren, who doubled on flute. In the rhythm section were the American expatriate Horace Parlan on piano, the Danish bassist Jesper Lundgaard and Norwegian drummer Ole Jacob Hansen. Recorded in Monster, Holland, ...
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Doug Raney: Best for Last

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 5, 2016

For some reason, the best jazz albums are impossible to find—at sane prices, of course. There are plenty of mediocre ones out there—and many are re-issued over and over and over again through the years. But the real gems seem to disappear fast, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because they're recorded by smaller labels in smaller studios in smaller countries and the labels run out of product faster. Or someone with a long gray beard goes around buying ...
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Jon Raney on Doug Raney

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 9, 2016

Doug Raney (1956-2016), a son of guitar legend Jimmy Raney and a brilliant lyrical guitarist in his own right who lived in Denmark for much of his career, died of heart failure in jny: Copenhagen on May 1, according to his brother Jon. He was 59. Many jazz fans in the States are unfamiliar with Raney, since he toured here infrequently and gave few interviews. Those who do know his music have been exposed to it largely through his albums, ...
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Doug Raney: Phantom Guitarist

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 26, 2015

When talk turns to the finest guitarists of the post-war years, Jimmy Raney often is overlooked. So is his son, Doug. Jimmy Raney was born in jny: Louisville, Ky., in 1927, and watched his mother play guitar in the 1930s. Raney studied with guitarist Hayden Causey, eventually replacing him in Jerry Wald's band, where he made his first recordings in 1944. In jny: Chicago he worked with pianist Lou Levy and then joined Woody Herman in 1948.  After leaving Herman's ...
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