Ray Vega @ the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe

"El Manicero," the Peanut Vendor is one of the tunes the started it all. Here Ray and the group play their rendition of this time honored favorite. The tune takes an unusual twist into a Latin Jazz tune which fluctuates between mambo and straight ahead time.

Ray Vega @ the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe

Here we have another outing from Ray with one his groups. Featured on sax is Roger Byam and Igor Atalita on keyboards. Adam Weber, drums, Bernie Minoso, bass. and myself round out the sextet. The performance dates from 9/21/97.

Ray Vega at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe

Here we have Ray's group featuring, Adam Weber on drums, Bernie Minoso on bass, Igor Atalita on piano, me on tumbas and the addition of Roger Byam on sax. Ray, Bernie and Roger are all Mongo Santamaria alumni and its obvious in their playing why Mongo chose them for his band. The tune is presented in two parts because of space constraints.

Ray Vega at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe 9/21/97 Pt.2

Ray Vega at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe 9/21/97

Ray is a frequent guest artist at the Cafe. This is a little blast from the past and includes Adam Weber on traps, Bernie Minoso on bass, Igor Atalita on keys and yours truly on tumbas. The tune is a tribute to musicologist/writer Max Salazar and is named for him. Ray originally played Salazar with the great Mongo Santamaria band.