Freddie Ravel, Latin and Smooth jazz Artist

He has collaborated, produced, recorded and composed music with legends such as Quincy Jones, Yo-Yo-Ma, Madonna, Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Jarreau, Prince, the Boston Pops and rock legend, Carlos Santana to name a few. Meet this week’s Featured Artist – Contemporary jazz and Latin Jazz composer/keyboardist Freddie Ravel. 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Latin Jazz,

The dawn of the new millennium has seen a ravenous cultural appetite develop for all things Latin. Santana’s GRAMMY® sweep, the ongoing success of pop artists like Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony, an unprecedented interest in Latin jazz, and the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon are just a few examples. It’s the perfect climate for listeners eager for more of the real deal to discover the multi-cultural excitement of Freddie Ravel. His fiery and sensual self-titled GRPdebut recording draws upon his lifelong passions for jazz and R&B, his diverse heritage, and his intense spirituality.

Ravel explored Latin music to an extent on his previous recordings, Midnight Passion and Sol to Soul, but the genre in the early- and mid-’90s was nothing like the cultural force it has become today. Sol to Soul was an important breakthrough, earning airplay on both contemporary jazz and Spanish language stations. This time, he felt freer to dig even deeper into the Latin roots of his music.  “Finally the timing is perfect for the kind of music I most love to do,” says Ravel. “The primal energy and infectious rhythms of the genre are so accepted that now, more than ever, I can focus on the drive, pulse, and elements of all the Latin music I grew up adoring—cumbia, tango, salsa, rumba, bolero, meringue, Baionand samba,” he continues. “I’ve been writing songs with Spanish lyrics for a long time and had experimented with these rhythmic schemes, but for this album I didn’t have to ask myself, ‘Will people get it?’ They’re getting it.”

While it could be easy for artists with some affinity for the genre to hop on the bandwagon and create a few hot percussive grooves, for Ravel this new album represents the musical story of his life. “My father is a very metaphysical man whose parents were Eastern European, and my mother hails from Cali, Colombia, the home of a music known as cumbia. I grew up with these multi-spiritual influences, speaking both English and Spanish and, most of all, hearing an amazing variety of music. True to his European heritage, my dad brought home the classical music, and my mom played the music of the Colombian jungles and northern Caribbean coast,” Ravel says. “Today, I find the purest moments come when I’m just sitting at the piano letting all of this flow through me to make music that speaks from the heart.”

Freddie Ravel features an amazing cast of sidemen—including Earth, Wind & Fire’s bassist Verdine White and guitarist Al McKay; gypsy guitar duo Strunz & Farah; original Miami Sound Machine percussionist Rafael Padilla; bassist Jimmy Earl, guitarist Michael O’Neill; and longtime smooth jazz associates Peter White, Eric Marienthal, and GRP labelmate Marc Antoine. Antoine creates a lush, flamenco guitar style atmosphere with Ravel on the set’s opener, “Echo De Amor”—which was so resonant that Ravel chose to bookend the recording with a reprise acoustic duet with Antoine.

Ravel and White co-wrote and performed the dreamy romance “Bolerino Bella” and the breezy, retro-soul “Conversations.” The cool groove in “Summerplay” is enhanced by Marienthal’s soulful sax lead.  “Sunny Side Up” features the glorious tension between Ravel’s Rhodes and gently swaying acoustic piano with brilliant accompaniment from EWF comrades Verdine White and Al McKay. Padilla’s intense percussion and the festive four-piece In & Out Horns create a powerful vamp on the joyous “Samba Mundial.” Ravel takes lead vocal on the optimistic “Love Is In The Air . . . When You’re Aware,” which blends a sensuous Tito Puente dance groove with a touch of Santana. “Da Me La Razon (Love is in the Air)” appears later in the disc, the same song but with the background chorus sung in Spanish. The moody “Piano Sensual” casts a seductive glow, with a piano line Ravel likens to “the melody of a gypsy violin.” The virtuosic guitars of Strunz & Farah and flashy brass flourishes add vibrant textures to the mambo-flavored Spanish vocal “Dame Tu Calor.”

Ravel draws musical inspiration from his world travels, during which he has performed for the Sultan of Brunei and the King of Thailand; for the dedication of a Buddhist temple in Kyoto and the Nehru centenary in the palaces of Delhi. He has explored the cultures of Central and South America, Israel, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia. He’s also influenced by the spirituality that shapes every element of his life. World-renowned author of mind-body medicine—and co-writer of the song “Slip in the Gap” from Sol to Soul—Dr. Deepak Chopra says: “Freddie’s expression comes from the source of all music, the spirit which is infinite silence and infinite dynamism at the same time.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ravel began his musical education at age 7, and later studied jazz and classical composition at Cal State Northridge, where he graduated with cum laude honors. He was very soon established as one of the top session players, cited by The Hollywood Reporter as “one of L. A.’s truly great keyboardists.” His first two recordings as a leader, 1991’s Midnight Passion and 1996’s Sol to Soul further raised his profile as musician, composer, and producer.

When people say they “know” Ravel, most likely they have only heard one side of his diverse artistry. Contemporary jazz audiences are best aware of the composer/keyboardist from his two popular previous recordings, Midnight Passion and Sol to Soul—enduring favorites at the NAC radio format where they still receive recurrent airplay—as well as his collaborations with guitarist Peter White. R&B fans worldwide know him from his recordings and performances with Earth, Wind and Fire in the mid-’90s. Ravel was also featured on Al Jarreau’s GRP release Tomorrow Today, co-writing the Latin-flavored title track and touring with the legendary singer to all corners of the globe. His work on the original motion picture Evita included appearing with Madonna in a video for “You Must Love Me” and a featured piano solo on the popular house remix of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.” Ravel’s all-star resumé also includes his work with Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendes, Tony Bennett, Bobby McFerrin, and countless others.

In addition to his unique contemporary and Latin jazz creations, Ravel composes symphonic works; he received rave reviews from appearances as guest composer and pianist with the seventy-piece California Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his musical activities, Ravel dedicates time to cycling, hiking, running, yoga, and spiritual studies; he also actively supports environmental and human rights causes.  “Music is so profound that I consider it to be the very fabric of the universe. It is amazing that simple variations of pitch, frequency, and chordal structures can have such a profound universal power to make people jump for joy, feel melancholy, or create a sense of déjà vu—to bring our hearts back to a certain place and time,” says Ravel. “If I’ve played music that brings people joy, I think I’ve done my job.” Exploring his previous recordings, his orchestral works, and especially the engaging and vibrant music of his eponymous GRP release, it’s clear that Freddie Ravel has indeed done his job, and then some.

Freddie