COSMIC KREWE JAZZ FUNK AFRO-FUTURISM Cosmic Krewe is a satellite of Arkestra

The stage comes to life with supersonic sound, glittering lights and cosmic pageantry as the musicians congregate and prepare for their leader, the Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist, , to lead them into the promised Cosmos.

Multi-percussion stations, synthesizers, keys of all sorts, drums, a front line of trumpets, saxophones and various other horns, with a sexy sassy funky classy bluesy jazzy cosmic vocalist all consecutively come into play. Each entering the musical fray with precision and unadulterated rapture.

Founded in the very early 1990s after trumpeter Michael Ray migrated from the Sun Ra house in to settle in , Cosmic Krewe has slowly and steadily evolved through countless rehearsals and live performances into the hot, tight, fiercely experimental ensemble.

A quick look at Michael Ray's musical resume clearly reveals the roots of the unique fusion of experimental jazz and contemporary dance music that he calls cosmic funk. Since 1978 the trumpet star has functioned as the intergalactic tone specialist for the Sun Ra Arkestra while serving simultaneously as a key member of the horn section for the popular R&B group Kool & the Gang.

Splitting his work time between these two prominent ensembles, Ray came upon a way to fuse the disparate idioms into a Jazz Funk of the Future that could take the music straight down the middle of the rhythmic spectrum and all the way out the realm of free group improvisation.

Settled in New Orleans and convalescing from a serious knee injury sustained in a terrible fall from a slippery stage surface while performing an outdoor concert with the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1991, Ray began to develop the concept of the Cosmic Krewe as a means of realizing his musical ideas.

Ray meditated at length on the twin questions of repertoire and personnel, inviting a small cadre of carefully selected musicians to come over and rehearse some Sun Ra compositions and some of Michael's own original works. The neon sculptor Jerry Theriot was a frequent visitor, and he and Michael explored the possibility of incorporatng Theriot's imaginative creations into the Cosmic Krewe's presentations.

A short residency by Sun Ra & the Arkestra at a college in the Northeast opened the door to a second universe of adventurous players Ray could draft into the Cosmic Krewe. Percussionist Steve Ferrari was named Captain of the Krewe, and trombonist Don Glasgo soon proved one of the Krewe's steadiest members. Dave Grippo, Adam Klipple and Stacy Starkweather came in, and Ray formed a close musical friendship with the guys in while performing with the Krewe in the jam band's home base of Burlington, VT. Soon Ray started bringing his New England mob down to New Orleans for JazzFest performances and recording sessions and mixing them in with stellar Crescent City musicians like Eddie Dejan, guitarist Carl LeBlanc, saxophonists Tony Dagradi, Tim Green and Clarence Johnston III, and a bevy of percussionists including Kenyatta Simon and fellow Sun Ra alumnus Samurai Celestial.

The fully constituted Krewe soon established its reputation for brilliance, intelligence, excitement and daring by means of a series of legendary performances like the time they almost tore down the Jazz Tent at the Jazz & Heritage Festival when the capacity audience leaped to its feet and started dancing like crazy.

MICHAEL RAY BIO

Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist

A renowned international trumpeter Michael Ray is a seasoned jazz-funk musician who has had stellar runs with Patti , , , Kool and the Gang, Sun Ra Arkestra, and many other legendary bands.

There’s a lot of the late Sun Ra in Michael Ray & The Cosmic Krewe. Deeply based in the Sun Ra concept of Cosmo-Drama, or jazz as performance art with a message, the Cosmic Krewe has developed out of the broad musical experience of trumpet man, composer and producer Michael Ray to bring us what its leader calls “Jazz Funk From The Future―representing the other side of the boundary of the last possibility.”

A professional musician for more than fifty years, this Trenton, New Jersey native has simultaneously mined every side of the of international music scene since the late 1970's playing his supersonic jazz/funk/future trumpet as the Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist with Sun Ra & His Arkestra, prancing around to the funky sounds of Kool & the Gang and many other world-wide phenomenon.

Considered a musician's musician, Michael Ray has performed live with Phish, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Zambiland Orchestra, Deep Banana Blackout, and even Porno for Pyros. He established his own management company Rhythm & Muse, with a second office in E. Thetford, Vermont. He was nominated "Best Contemporary Jazz" and performed at the 7th Annual Big Easy Entertainment Awards in 1994. His innovative multi-art collaborations focusing on sound and color utilize avant garde jazz compositions, neon set installations, dance and poetry. The concept earned the group a regional arts award in 1993 funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller and Andy Warhol foundations. His "Jazz As Performance Art" theme productions include tribute shows to The Haitian Vibration, The Spoken Word, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Sun Ra. Highly regarded as a world class player in jazz circles, Ray's affiliation with Sun Ra's Intergalactic Arkestra began in 1978.

Ray performed and/or produced nearly two dozen albums internationally with the Jazz Hall of Fame keyboardist that led the #1 Big Band on the planet for more than a dozen years (Downbeat's International critics poll as recently as 1992). Sun Ra designated Ray his "Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist", featuring him on trumpet and vocals. Ray appears on Sun Ra albums on Saturn Records and on CDs released by Evidence, Enja, HatHut, Rounder, Black Saint, Horo, A&M, Philly Jazz and ESP labels. On tour with Sun Ra for, he performed for festivals, TV shows and artist residencies. Ray is also recognized as a member of the front line for Kool & The Gang, the top selling group of the 1980's. Ray danced, sang, played trumpet, and was a member of the award-winning writing and production team that produced seven platinum/gold albums and seven "Top Ten" hits for the group.

Ray won four American Music Awards, 5 Ampex Golden Reel Awards, the 1978 NARM Award and a Grammy nomination from 1979-1989. Leading his own Cosmic Krewe, Ray combines the best of both his influences, the amazing Cosmo-Drama and outer space presentations of Sun Ra, & the high energy, rock/funk shows of Kool & the Gang. He's received awards from Lila Wallace-Readers' Digest, Foundation National Jazz Network; The Louisiana Jazz Federation; and New Orleans' Contemporary Arts Center, and Music & Entertainment Commission, & WWOZ FM. In his home base city of New Orleans, he has been nominated Best Contemporary Jazz Artist and won the 1999 award for Best Funk Artist.

LARANAH PHIPPS-RAY BIO

SEXY SASSY FUNKY CLASSY BLUESY JAZZY COSMIC VOCALIST

Laranah Phipps-Ray, affectionately known as "La" is an American Jazz vocalist/recording artist. She is the Daughter of Jazz Pioneering saxophonist, Gene Phipps, Sr. (Phipps Family - Newark's First Family of Jazz), wife of the critically acclaimed and Grammy Award winning trumpeter, Michael Ray and lead vocalist & dancer for Cosmic Krewe. The Phipps Family has enjoyed a long, prosperous and well documented jazz legacy both in the USA and abroad.

Laranah brings to the table, her own sense of distinctive sound, phrasing and storytelling. Laranah's voice is laced with a certain ancient African richness. Her instrument to soars with a distinct yet familiar soul and power. She is most noted for "her far from mainstream" scat-styling, five octave range, her improvisational facility, her volcanic grasp of groove and her Fashion Forward Cosmic Flair.

Laranah is a gifted songwriter. She has written and produced three albums: Wild Eyes Crying 1990, Raising the Standards 1996, The Woman in Me 2001, two single: I Rule the Night 2015 and Love in Santiago 2018. Phipps-Ray’s is currently working on a recording project with husband, Michael Ray, slated to drop late 2019.

Ms. Phipps-Ray has shared the stage and recorded with many local, national and international performers. Production Credits include Production Stage Manager for The Dunbar Repertory Company, Production Assistant for the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, and Cultural Arts Director for Asbury Park Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall. Laranah founder's credits include Phipps Entertainment Group, Flat 5 Records, Natty Goddess Music Publishing Co. and Real Jazz Talk (Jazz Radio Program) and Lead Vocal Instructor for Trinity School of the Arts in Asbury Park NJ. She regularly conducts vocal workshops for children and adults.