IN MEMORY OF RAY SHULMAN

In one way or another, Ray Shulman was destined to have a life in music. Born on December 8, 1949, he’s best known as a member of progressive rock mavericks Gentle Giant, but he could just as easily have become a star violinist in the classical world. The youngest of the three brothers who would form the band, Ray was a prodigious musical talent, skilled at both the violin and the guitar. His parents were eager for Ray to join the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, but brother Derek had other ideas. Electrified by the arrival of The Beatles, he set about forging his own musical legacy, forming his first band with friends from grammar school. One day, as they rehearsed in the Shulmans’ front room, Ray began strumming along on his violin. Noting that his brother was plainly the most talented musician in the room, Derek asked him to join.
“This was the beginning of the Shulman brothers’ journey into the sordid but incredible world of popular music,” says Derek Shulman. “I thought, ‘If The Beatles can make it, well, so can I!’ To our parents’ dismay, Ray preferred playing R&B and soul music to playing Bach and Bartók. I should be sorry but honestly I’m not, because if it wasn’t for Ray none of what transpired would have been able to happen.”
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What transpired was the start of Ray Shulman’s career as one of the most extraordinary players in rock history. In 1966, the nascent project became Simon Dupree And The Big Sound, with Ray on lead guitar and elder brother Phil also now on board, bringing saxophone and trumpet to the table. Over the next three years, they enjoyed great success across Europe, embarking on multiple tours on the continent and scoring a Top 10 hit in the UK with the somewhat atypical psych-pop of Kites in the autumn of 1967. By the end of 1969, Simon Dupree And The Big Sound were no more, and the Shulmans were readying a vastly more adventurous and, yes, progressive endeavour.
Gentle Giant released their self-titled debut album in the autumn of 1970, revealing the astonishing, intuitive chemistry between the six members of this new entity. As bassist and occasional violinist, Ray Shulman was the musical glue that held the band’s improbable compositions together, while his prolific songwriting skills provided them with an endless stream of malleable material. This remained true for the next decade, as the band released a series of distinctive and eccentric studio records, earning a reputation as one of prog’s most explosive live bands. From the frantic intricacies of Acquiring The Taste and Octopus, to more sophisticated and forward-thinking classics like The Power And The Glory and Free Hand, Gentle Giant were always ahead of the game and in a field of their own. Throughout it all, Ray Shulman was a versatile and idiosyncratic presence, and it is hard to imagine any of Gentle Giant’s music without his ingenious, lyrical and often weirdly funky bass lines.
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“I had the honour of being chosen to produce the first album by Gentle Giant and went on to produce the second, Acquiring The Taste,” recalls Tony Visconti.
“Ray Shulman was talented, professional and intellectual. His violin playing alone was extraordinary – very emotive and flawless. But then he played electric bass as if his parts were written by Stravinsky. He was a sweet young man, very sensitive and well spoken, and a joy to converse with. I have two precious albums to remember him by, two of the best albums I’ve ever made. Thank you, Ray.”
“When I heard Gentle Giant the first time I was instantly drawn to the bass,” says Yes bassist Billy Sherwood. “Ray had a certain tone and approach to composition that was uniquely his own and I loved it. I’d often play along to the records to get my bass chops together, in the hope that some of that bass magic would rub off on me. I’ve always felt the driving force of a band lies within the rhythm section. Ray stood out among the best of the best and always delivered.”
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Ray Shulman’s ability to play violin (and viola), often through a quadraphonic speaker setup for maximum psychedelic impact, and a wide array of other instruments (on Acquiring The Taste’s Black Cat, he plays “skulls”) gave Gentle Giant a versatility that few could match. An ineffable document of Gentle Giant’s prowess and Ray Shulman’s brilliance as a bass player, 1977 live album Playing The Fool captures the young band at the peak of their powers. Even on later, less-celebrated studio records like The Missing Piece (also 1977), Ray Shulman remained at the heart of every great idea: witness his beautiful 12-string guitar work on the blissed-out, meandering Memories Of Old Days, as just one dazzling example.
“Ray was such a complete musician and arranger,” says Gentle Giant’s long-serving guitarist Gary Green. “His skills covered the whole range of music production, right from the early days. He was always the first one to grasp the nuances of new gear and technologies. He was always questing and curious, and always getting the best results! He was our de facto musical director, shepherding the music through to the finish.”
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“I can truly s...