Ray Charles was best known for his work in the idioms of R&B, rock ‘n’ roll and even successful forays into country.  But he also recorded influential jazz albums, including the groundbreaking Genius + Soul = Jazz in 1961, and continuing into the ’70s with My Kind of Jazz, Jazz Number II, and My Kind of Jazz part 3. Concord Records will release a deluxe edition two-CD set featuring digitally remastered versions of all four albums including encyclopedic liner notes by Will Friedwald, jazz writer for The Wall Street Journal and author of several books on music and popular culture, along with original liner notes by Dick Katz and Quincy Jones.

In his original liner notes for Genius + Soul = Jazz, Dick Katz wrote, “The combination here of rare talent plus uncommon craftsmanship has produced a record that showcases the timeless quality and innate taste that is uniquely that of Ray Charles.”  Even though Count Basie does not appear on the album, he was a major model for Ray Charles jazz work.  He assembled a full-scale, working orchestra, which included members of the Count Basie Orchestra, and made use of organ in a jazz context.  The album was produced by Creed Taylor, with arrangements by Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns.  Issued originally on ABC Records’ legendary Impulse jazz label, the record ascended to the #4 spot on Billboard’s pop album chart, and spawned the very first singles on Impulse, heretofore an album label.  Ray Charles’ version of “One Mint Julep” charted #1 R&B and #8 pop.

Fans of Ray Charles’ jazz repertoire will now have all four of his jazz album releases collected in this new deluxe two-CD edition, available on April 6, 2010.