Ray Gelato’s Bar Italia

London. Soho on sunny autumn day. A purely Italian cup of coffee. The sun shining bright and I’m mesmerised by Ray. I am not speaking of the sun-beam, but of the company of my dear friend: the jazz legend Ray Gelato. I guess we should have had ice-cream instead of coffee! Enough with my mucking about with word play and on to the delightful chat with an outstanding figure of the music realm.

You’ve recently composed a new song?

It’s called Bar Italia. I found inspiration in the place where we are right now. This is the most famous coffee bar in London, run by a friend of mine called Antony Polledri. His family have run this family since 1947 and his father Nino, he’s still around, is another friend of mine. I’ve been coming here for so many years. This place is like my office: I come in and do business, I sit and have coffee. I wanted to write a song about it and I called it Bar Italia, ‘Where You Wanna Be’.

Ray Gelato at Bar Italia…tell me about your Italian origins…

My Italian name started because I like Italian and American music, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, I also like the white jazz musicians, a lot were Italian like Charlie Ventura. But my father is from New Jersey and my mother’s side of the family was from Salerno, more than a 100 years ago they came to America and then England. I have Italian blood.

How did your music career start budding?

When I was growing up here in London there was a lot of music everywhere, bars, pubs, much more than now and I just enjoyed my father’s records, he had a lot of Rock n’ Roll records like Little Richard, Bill Haley and a little bit of jazz. So I grew up listening to a lot of pretty good music and I started playing the saxophone, learnt to play really in clubs and took it from there and realised I had a talent to sing later as well. I got into it by accident. I didn’t get in to through a conscious decision.

You know we’re sitting in front of the Ronnie Scott’s Club, a historical place for jazz…

It’s the most famous jazz club in the world, it’s been here since the 50s and I play with my band there every Christmas. I still play the Italian songs, but I also play my jazz. Also when I play at Blue Note Milan I do a little bit of jazz, a little bit of swing, it’s not just one dimension.

What kind of jazz do you prefer?

Probably the Golden Era from the 30s like Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway and the Big Band, Count Basie right through the 50s to Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. I like Miles Davis and also Rock N’Roll Rhythm and Blues, New Orleans Blues Music. Music is an umbrella I keep listening to new things all the time.

And you also promote young talents…

Yes I’ve had several concerts with an American lady called Kai Hoffman. We’re doing some duets like Louis Prima and Keely Smith or Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Trying to revisit those things, as not many people would do it. It also gives me a chance to do something different, and it’s a small band in small venues using only piano base and drums with the vocals.

Going back to Bar Italia, how are you planning to distribute it?

Antony owns the song and hasn’t put it out yet. But I think it will be on Facebook, iTunes and my website. And on my future albums, I’d like to put out two albums: one rhythm and blues and a Ray Gelato blues album, not boring blues, jump blues, very earthy. And I’d like to put an Italian theme album out too maybe on that one I could put the Bar Italia song.

Any plans to perform Bar Italia in Italia?

I’ll be playing it in the Blue Note Milano on February the 14th, St. Valentine’s Day, for five nights. Before that we’re playing at the Auditorium in Rome on the 13th. There will some more new material: ‘Meglio Stasera’, ‘It’d better be tonight’. I’m doing that one and I’ll sing it English, but I’m also learning the Italian lyrics.

By Chiara Spagnoli