Ray’s Music Exchange returns with live album

For three decades, Ray’s Music Exchange has been at the forefront of Cincinnati’s improvisational music scene, earning its reputation on high-energy chemistry, adventurous musicianship and an ability to let music move wherever the moment takes it. Started back in 1996 from the creative environment surrounding the University of Cincinnati, with early personnel drawn from the prestigious UC College-Conservatory of Music, the collective developed a sound where jazz fusion, progressive funk and open-ended improvisation could collide and thirty years on, that spirit is still going strong.

The band’s name may nod towards a classic moment from The Blues Brothers but its deeper meaning is tethered to the relationship between musicians and audience. In this context, a live ‘Exchange’ describes the visceral, almost cosmic flow of energy between improvisers on stage and a packed dance floor. It’s a concept that makes sense when considering the group’s music, where complex instrumental interplay is balanced by grooves designed to keep people moving.

Their sonic style draws from the electric fusion of Miles Davis and Frank Zappa alongside the infectious pocket of The Meters. At the centre sits an energetic horn section, while guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion create the setting for music that can shift from sophisticated jazz fusion into expansive jam textures. It’s a sound that values technical ability without allowing musicianship to overwhelm the communal energy that drives it.

Ray’s Music Exchange established itself during the late-1990s American jam-band renaissance, spending nearly a decade touring sporadically across the USA, playing alongside musical heroes and releasing five independent full-length records. By 2006, the band had entered an indefinite hiatus, but the music had already created a family of musicians and listeners that would prove difficult to leave behind. That family returned in 2010, when twelve legacy members reconvened for a sold-out Cincinnati reunion. The performance became A Live Rayunion, preserved on a 2011 live DVD and double album, while the periodic RayUnion gatherings developed into something larger than simple nostalgia.

For longtime fans, they became recurring pilgrimages and a way of reconnecting with the energy of the band’s early years. Now, as Ray’s Music Exchange marks three decades since those first live gigs, the collective has returned with A Live Family Rayunion 2025, its first live recording in fifteen years. Captured during a fiery, sold-out performance at Cincinnati’s historic Woodward Theater, the six-track release reconnects the band’s late-1990s improvisational origins with a younger generation of musicians from the city’s instrumental scene.

Founding keyboardist Paul Hogan’s originals are performed by the current core lineup of Brad Myers on guitar, Michael “Maddog” Mavridoglou on trumpet and keyboards, Nick Blasky on bass, Jason Smart on drums and Matthew Hawkins on percussion. Around them, the album expands into a cross-generational collaboration featuring saxophonist Josh Kline, trombonist Spencer Merk, keyboardist Jackson Steiger, and horn players Colin Thompson, Wayne Kilgard and Jonathan Wiseman from Ernie Johnson from Detroit.

Kicking off the release with “Furley’s Comet,” the flicker of wah-tinged guitar rhythms is met by the pulse of bass and taps of drums while bright brass pips see the band lock into a laid back groove that rolls with smooth melodic runs and slick instrumental flourishes. It’s a stunning showcase of the band’s musicianship panache and sonic synergy, offering an infectious jam packed full of memorable composition and virtuoso flair.

“Quartalchondriac 12-tone Jam” follows with deep bass tones and pattering percussion as intricate instrumental touches add to the atmosphere. Building with fluttering brass and guitar flashes tinged with subtle dissonance, it’s a moody outing that’s hypnotic and wholly absorbing throughout. “We Like You” slow things down with dub-inflected rhythms as delicate guitar elements and steady drums usher in smokey brass leads on a track that gradually builds towards a dreamy vocal-led passage.

With “Peruvius,” the jittery pulse of bass and rustle of percussion forms a brooding soundscape as graceful lead guitar work dances above, setting up a lively sound of belted brass and rolling drums before simmering down to a mesmeric groove. “Dancing About Architecture” flows with mellow rhythmic sway before gathering pace as various instrumental elements inject musical intensity, gliding through exquisite runs to the buoyant applause of the crowd.

Closing the release with “U ‘N’ I,” wobbly guitar rhythms and vibrant trumpet leads combine with shuffling drums to deliver one final extravaganza of the band’s incredible performance skill. Available globally on streaming services and as a collectible vinyl LP, the limited physical edition consists of 300 hand-numbered, hand-stamped jackets, accompanied by concert photography from Rob O’Brien and liner notes on 180-gram deluxe vinyl. Thirty years into the journey, Ray’s Music Exchange continues to revolve around the same idea that music is an exchange of energy. The personnel may shift and the improvisations may travel into unexpected sphere but the connection between players, groove and audience remains the constant.

Listen to A Live Family Rayunion 2025 below