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Ray Angry

Pianist, composer, and producer Ray Angry is a versatile performer, best known for his work with the Roots, whose style is steeped in the gospel, jazz, funk, and hip-hop traditions. He first emerged as a session player and has worked on albums with the Roots, Joss Stone, Christina Aguilera, Mark Ronson, Robert Randolph, and others. His own albums have showcased his jazz skills, including 2018's small group Ray Angry One and 2020's solo piano date Ray Angry Three. With the Roots, he has performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and contributed to albums like How I Got Over, the Grammy-nominated Undun, and ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin. Plumb, a collaboration with the Roots drummer Questlove and saxophonist David Murray, arrived in 2024. Born in Albany, Georgia, Angry was raised in Miami where he grew up taking classical piano lessons and playing gospel music. After high school, he studied music at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. It was there that he discovered jazz, especially the music of the early Wynton Marsalis group featuring pianist Kenny Kirkland. Prior to his early death in 1998, Kirkland became a mentor and helped guide Angry towards developing his jazz and improvisational skills. After college, Angry moved to New York City where he first met Ahmir Thompson aka Questlove, the drummer for the Roots. The association also led to Angry recording with singer Joss Stone, Christina Aguilera, Mobb Deep, and Mark Ronson, among others. By 2008, he was working regularly with the Roots and made his recorded debut with the band on 2010's How I Got Over. It was also during this period that the Roots became the house band on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Angry has contributed to a bevy of projects across the musical spectrum, including albums by Naughty By Nature, Robbie Williams, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, Mariah Carey, Robert Randolph, and many more. He and Questlove have also collaborated on other projects, including the theme song to Inside Amy Schumer. He also shared a Grammy-nomination with the Roots for their 2013 album Undun on which he helped produce. In 2018, Angry made his solo debut with Ray Angry One, a jazz album, featuring trumpeters Myron Walden and Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Derrick Hodge, and drummer Eric Harland. More studio work followed, including playing on and producing albums with the Roots, Cindy Blackman Santana, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Ruben Studdard. He also worked with Timo Elliston, co-writing and producing the soundtrack for the Amy Schumer series Life & Beth. An album of solo piano, Ray Angry Three, arrived in 2020. In 2024, he released Plumb, a collaboration with Questlove and jazz saxophonist David Murray.
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Discography

18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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