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Ray Santisi

"As anyone familiar with the Boston scene knows, there are few things finer than hearing Ray take on an acoustic piano. But there are different ways to tackle the challenge, and Ray can make any path work. On 6/2 Ray decided to put on a clinic. I'm not a piano player but even in my ignorance I found myself shaking my head in amazement. No doubt any piano player in the audience would have been inspired - or perhaps frightened into giving up the instrument. It was a master indulging in the sheer joy of tackling the possibilities (maybe the impossibilities) of the instrument. I wish there had been a video recorder running. I show up for the surprises and sometimes - as in this case - I am rewarded.” Stu Vandermark, CADENCE Magazine Ray Santisi, pianist/arranger/composer, was an internationally known jazz musician who played as featured soloist with Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Mel Torme, Irene Kral, Natalie Cole, and countless other well-known jazz greats. He performed with Buddy DeFranco, Joe Williams, Gabor Szabo, Milt Jackson, Zoot Sims & Al Cohn, Carole Sloane, Clark Terry and Bobby Brookmyer.

Ray Santisi has been a featured pianist on Blue Note, Capitol, Prestige, Sonnet, Roulette, and United Artists Records. He has also recorded on Bethlehem, Transition, and Rasan record labels.

Santisi's 1990's release, SPELLBINDER weaves a correlation between the seven-four time signature in the title piece and the hypnotic effect created by a snake charmer. Special thanks to Whit Brown, bass; and Fred Buda, percussion for such wonderful support and cooperation. Sit back, listen, and become spellbound. Santisi released LIVE @RYLES JAZZ CLUB in 2005. Both albums are available through CDBaby.com and singles may be purchased through iTunes, Rhapsody and other popoular digital distributors. Click on the Discography section below for complete details.

Santisi was professor of piano and harmony at Berklee College of Music in Boston for 57 years. Additionally, he taught at Stan Kenton's summer jazz clinics on college campuses throughout the US, performing in Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia.

An alumnus of Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory, Professor Santisi was awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in composition and performance. He authored "Berklee Jazz Piano", published through the Berklee Press and Hal Leonard in January 2009 and "Jazz Originals for Piano". He was a founder of the early Jazz Workshops in Boston and co-owner of the famous Stables Jazz Club.

A Ray Santisi quartet collaborated live every Saturday afternoon at Club Caravan in Revere, MA and the first Sunday of every month at Ryles Jazz Club brunch from 2003 until the month of his death in 2014 with The Patricia Adams Quartet.

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Celebrate Ray Santisi's Birthday @ Ryles Jazz Club, Tuesday Evening, February 1st

Celebrate Ray Santisi's Birthday @ Ryles Jazz Club, Tuesday Evening, February 1st

Source: Patricia Adams Ensembles

This Tuesday evening, February 1st, Ray Santisi celebrates a milestone birthday. Toast him and his trio while they gig at Ryles Jazz Club, 212 Hampshire Street, Inman Square, Cambridge. For information, call 617 876 9330. The music begins at 8:30pm. “As anyone familiar with the Boston scene knows, there are few things finer than hearing Ray take on an acoustic piano. This night, he decided to put on a clinic. It was a master indulging in the sheer joy of ...

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Professor to the Grammy Winners Plays Ryles Jazz Brunch December 27th

Professor to the Grammy Winners Plays Ryles Jazz Brunch December 27th

Source: Patricia Adams Ensembles

Ray Santisi--playing it, arranging it, composing it his way--brings his legendary harmonies and ear-thrilling piano-work to Ryles Jazz Clubs Sunday brunch, December 27, 2009 from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Santisi is internationally recognized by musicians in the know, especially piano players and the many Grammy winners whove studied with him at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he has taught music theory and piano technique for over 50 years while touring the world and playing local Massachusetts venues. Whether ...

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Ray Santisi's Berklee Jazz Piano

Ray Santisi's Berklee Jazz Piano

Source: Patricia Adams Ensembles

Play jazz piano with new facility and expression as Ray Santisi, one of the most revered educators at the Berklee College of Music.

Mentor to Keith Jarrett, Diana Krall, Joe Zawinul, and thousands of others - reveals the pedagogy at the core of Berklee's jazz piano curriculum. From beginning through advanced levels, Berklee Jazz Piano maps the school's curriculum.

This is a unique blend of theory and application that gives you a deep, practical understanding of how to play jazz. ...

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Ray Santisi Orchestrates Jazz Debate @ Ryles Jazz Club, September 25th!

Ray Santisi Orchestrates Jazz Debate @ Ryles Jazz Club, September 25th!

Source: Patricia Adams Ensembles

1. “Where is Jazz Today? Right Where It “Aught" To Be! --Victor Magnani." 2. “Jazz in the new millennium. There are naysayers who believe that the genre doesn't stand a chance in today's hit-driven music." 3. “Today, jazz has reemerged and has re-familiarized itself with the era of today by appearing on the silver screen and on the stage." Three perspectives. Ryles Jazz Club's center stage umpires the debate about jazz culture by presenting the musicians who built (and are ...

About "Berklee Jazz Piano" by Ray Santisi, published through the Berklee Press and Hal Leonard, January 2009

"I have been aware of Mr. Santisi's virtuosity as a pianist for many decades. Now he has applied his formidable knowledge and experience to a carefully presented analytical approach to aid in developing the reader's technical facility, while encouraging and preserving the unique musical essence and imagination of the individual."— George Russell, composer, author of Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization

"I have known Ray Santisi since I was a teenager in Boston. Ray Santisi would invite me to sit in with the Herb Pomeroy Sextet. He taught many aspiring jazz musicians for many years at Berklee. This all encompassing book will beinvaluable to musicians and teachers alike who pursue jazz improvisation."— Steve Kuhn, pianist/composer

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