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Ray Shulman \u2013 a multi-instrumentalist greatest identified for his work within the seminal prog-rock band Gentle Giant \u2013 has died on the age of 73.<\/p>\n
His passing was confirmed on Saturday (April 1) by his brother and Gentle Giant bandmate Derek, who wrote in an announcement on Facebook: \u201cI am deeply saddened to announce that my younger brother and my best friend Ray Shulman passed away on March 30th at his home in London.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Derek, the late Shulman \u201cbravely battled a long illness\u201d and died with household at his aspect. \u201cAt least I know he is now at peace,\u201d he wrote, praising Ray as \u201csuch a kind and caring soul\u201d who \u201creally was a genius in so many ways\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[Ray] will be deeply missed by the music community as a whole,\u201d Derek added. \u201cMore importantly, I will miss him as my brother and truly my best friend. He leaves behind his wife Barbara Tanner [and] his older brother Philip. To all who knew Ray or know of him, \u2018Think of him with kindness.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI’m deeply saddened to announce that my youthful brother and my greatest pal Ray Shulman handed away on March thirtieth at his\u2026<\/p>\n
Posted by Derek Shulman<\/a> on\u00a0Saturday, April 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
A Portsmouth native, Ray was born on December 8, 1949. He, Derek and brother Phil \u2013 the latter two born in Glasgow earlier than the household headed south \u2013 had been inspired by their father, a military musician who later carried out as a jazz trumpeter, to be taught a number of devices. Ray and Derek began a band collectively within the early Sixties, galvanised by their curiosity in conventional R&B. Phil initially served as a casual supervisor and considerably of a caretaker for the youthful pair, however later discovered a task within the band itself.<\/p>\n
The trio initially carried out as The Howling Wolves, then The Road Runners, earlier than re-debuting themselves as Simon Dupree And The Big Sound in 1966. Derek took on the titular moniker, with Ray largely taking part in guitar and violin (and sometimes trumpet) whereas he sung backing vocals. That band \u2013 which briefly featured a younger Elton John<\/a> on piano \u2013 was dissolved on the flip of the century, with the brothers rising bored with its soul-imbued pop route.<\/p>\n
From there, the Shulmans fashioned Gentle Giant as an ambitiously advanced prog-rock mission, with their modus operandi (as per the liner notes of their 1971 album, \u2018Acquiring The Taste\u2019) being to \u201cexpand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular\u201d. Their self-titled debut album arrived in 1970, with 10 extra following over the subsequent decade (their final being 1980\u2019s \u2018Civilian\u2019).<\/p>\n
The band was notably profitable within the mid-Seventies, charting at Number 78 with their sixth album, 1974\u2019s \u2018The Power And The Glory\u2019, and at Number 48 with \u2018Free Hand\u2019 the next yr.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Gentle Giant broke up in 1980, Ray saved lively as a producer, linking up with such acts as The Sugarcubes, The Sundays, The Trash Can Sinatras and The Defects. He later went on to launch two EPs of trance music, working beneath the moniker Head-Doctor, and scored unique music for video video games like Azrael\u2019s Tear<\/i> and Privateer 2: The Darkening<\/i>.<\/p>\n
In his Facebook publish, Derek stated of Ray\u2019s distinctive musical skills: \u201cHe was an incredible composer, musician, music producer [and] tech wizard. He was a true artist and preferred to stay in the background and let his body of work speak for him rather than talk about himself\u2026 More recently he devoted his tech and musical expertise in authoring and remixing other artists.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n