Ray Charles Project, live in the Big Room .
Schedule
Sat Jan 10 2026 at 08:00 pm to 11:00 pm
UTC-08:00Location
Empress Theatre | Vallejo, CA
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In tribute to the genius of Ray Charles, a swinging septet of outstanding
Bay Area musicians offers their take on some of the highlights from Ray’s
amazing songbook.
Glenn Walters sang lead for two sensational Bay Area bands, the Hoodoo
Rhythm Devils and the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra. The San Francisco
Examiner called his voice “as warm, furry and comforting as a mink coat.
You just wanna wrap it around you.”
David K. Mathews has been playing keyboards professionally since 1975.
After playing with Tower of Power for two years, he toured for a decade
with the Queen of Rhythm and Blues, Etta James, and is currently the
keyboard player for Santana. He’s played on Late Night with David
Letterman, Austin City Limits, Dancing with the Stars, and the Tonight
Show – the Johnny Carson version and the Jay Leno edition – and worked
with a Who’s Who of musical greats, including Toots Thielman, Bonnie
Raitt, Vassar Clements, the Gypsy Kings, and John McLaughlin.
Blues guitarist extraordinaire Chris Cain grew up in San Jose, studied
music at San Jose City College, and over the next twenty years learned his
way around clarinet, piano, bass guitar, and alto and tenor saxophone, not
to mention developing fierce vocal chops. He’s played with such greats as
Albert King and Albert Collins, Johnny Otis and Junior Wells, Boz Scaggs
and Willie Nelson, and recorded ten solo albums, including his latest, So
Many Miles, which the Chicago Blues Guide calls “a delicious blend of
blues laced with jazz and rock.”
Bassist DeWayne Pate graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los
Angeles, moved north, and has since worked with an array of top Bay Area
talents including Huey Lewis and the News, Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur, and
Robben Ford. He’s also a columnist for Bassics Magazine, and his
instructional video, The Art of Tapping, his been widely popular. Reviewer
Andrew Gilbert called his album Melting Pot “an impressive array of
grooves.”
Deszon Claiborne is the dynamic drummer for Clockwork and the Tammy Hall
Trio.
Tony Lindsay has 11 Grammy awards on his mantel after spending two
decades as lead singer of Santana, and has recorded with such artists as
Patti Austin, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and Steve Winwood. He
moved from Albany, New York to San Jose in 1980, worked at Guitar Center,
and joined the Danny Hull Quintet, which later adopted the name
Spang-a-Lang. His friend Chester Thompson invited him to audition for
Santana, and overnight he went from playing small clubs to huge
amphitheaters.
Join these musical dynamos in a tribute to the genius of soul and blues,
Ray Charles.
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Where is it happening?
Empress Theatre, 330 Virginia St,Vallejo, California, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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