The Ray Obiedo Group

Contemporary jazz composer and guitarist Obiedo has had an eclectic musical background during his youth spent in the San Francisco Bay Area. The sounds of Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Henry Mancini and the popular sounds of Motown Records influenced his early musical persona. Probably the greatest influence on his embryonic career, however, was the James Brown revue, whose funky, percussive guitar sounds was the platform on which Obiedo built his technique.  He joined organist Johnny “Hammond” Smith on a U S tour in 1974, then ECM Records trombonist Julian Priester on his first European outing in 1977. A world tour in 1978-79 with jazz superstar Herbie Hancock is still one Ray’s most treasured musical memories.