Ray Levier

Independent

Ray Levier

About

Paiste Artist Since
June 2009

Main Affiliations
Independent
KJ Denhert

Website
www.raylevier.com

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Setup

Biography

A well respected sought after drummer, producer, and clinician living in New York. Ray LeViers chops and musicality have brought him much success. Ray has played and recorded with John Abercrombie, Dave Binney, KJ Denhert, Joe Locke, Francois Moutin, Wayne Krantz, Mike Stern, and Rich Tozzoli. Ray also writes music for television and has ammased hundreds of TV cues airing around the world from networks such as Nat Geo, Discovery, TLC, Etc. Rays debut CD "Rays Way" released 09 on Origin records has been received with rave reviews and was featured in Jazz Times magazine May 2009 issue stating "Keep an ear on this LeVier guy—he's got "rising star" written all over him." Ray has been taught by some of the best drummers in the biz such as Lenny White, Kim Plainfield, John Riley, Marvin Smith, and Adam Nussbaum. Touring the world and inspiring all who see and hear him play at clinics and festivals. Ray LeViers spirit is testimony to his inspirational career as a drummer and musician.

Setup Cymbals

  • Details

    Sizes: 14", 16", 18"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Exotic, warm, trashy. Medium range, complex mix. Fast, responsive feel, fairly quick decay. An explosive Crash cymbal with a strong, low wash for unique effects in many styles of music.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 20", 21", 22"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: A fusion of darkness, energy, projection and brilliance. Very wide range, complex, musical mix. Responsive feel, extremely controllable. Woody, silvery, spanky ping over crunchy, thriving wash. Extremely versatile, flexible ride for wide ranging application in modern blended music styles. Mark II: Tends to be a bit livelier and brighter. This manifests itself in the overall sound character and in particular in the bell and ping sound. Mark II also has a bit more volume potential due to its more open character.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 16", 17", 18", 19"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Dark body, full frequency spectrum, brilliant highs. Very wide range, complex, pleasing musical mix. Immediate, sensitive response, strong attack, controllable spread, even, layered fade. This crash combines silky, soft qualities with energy and projection for an incredibly versatile application range. Also extremely well suited as suspended cymbals and for mallet rolls.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 14"
    Volume: Soft
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Dark, dry, woody. Fairly wide range, complex mix. Soft, responsive feel. Full, warm, open sound. Loose, soggy chick sound. Perfectly suited for traditional swing patterns, but also well usable for other acoustic styles like Blues, Country, Soul or Gospel.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 18", 20"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Aggressive, bright, energetic, trashy. Medium range, complex mix. Responsive feel, explosive attack. Powerful, cutting effect cymbal for exotic accents. A good cymbal for noisy crash riding at higher volume levels.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 18", 22"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Dark, warm, strong, exotic, sizzling, earthy. Wide range, slightly complex and dense mix. Fairly soft, responsive feel. Great for explosive, strong, dark accents. Complex, washy ride sound. A modern China cymbal with a wide spectrum for various musical applications. “The China is nearly smooth”, states Vinnie Colaiuta.

  • Sounds