Naptown Legacy by "Killer" Ray Appleton

Legendary drummer “Killer” Ray Appleton revisits the fertile Indianapolis music scene of his youth for his new recording “Naptown Legacy” on Hollistic MusicWorks. Tunes by eminent Indianpolitans Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery and his brother Buddy (all of whom Ray was a drummer of choice for), J.J. Johnson and organist Melvin Rhyne are the frames for spirited, concise blowing by an all star cast of Ray’s friends including Grammy© award winning trumpeter Brian Lynch, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and alto sax ace Ian Hendrickson-Smith. Equally adept are talented pianist Rick Germanson, tenor saxist Todd Herbert (formerly Freddie Hubbard’s sax man), bassist Robert Sabin, and percussionist Little Johnny Rivero, who helps Killer keep the groove on numbers like Hubbard’s boogaloo “Backlash” (where Appleton reprises his role on Hubbard’s original 1967 recording) and Rhyne’s Latin “Bamboo”. But it’s Killer Ray’s peerless ride cymbal beat, driving and illuminating, that shows, on numbers like J.J Johnson’s “Fatback” and Wes Montgomery’s “Twisted Blues”, why he’s considered by connoisseurs as one of the last of the truly swinging drummers of modern jazz’s classic era.