Ray Charles In Nancy (1973)

Still from the interview.

On October 10, 1973 Ray Charles headlined the first jazz festival in Nancy. I’ve just seen the raw materials and a rough first edited version of an interview related to this gig.

There were two shows, but the first one obviously was marred by sound problems. Ray was still full of that when, sitting in a bus between the concerts, he was interviewed by French TV: “I will play any place, if what I’m selling comes off. I will play in a factory. I will play in a toilet. […]. If my sound is right […] I will play anywhere.”

The edited version also has a few very rare seconds of color concert footage (the only ‘live’ coverage from 1973 that I know of), with the Ray Charles introduction, and the first notes of Let The Good Times Roll.