Five Years On - Darryl Ray

Five years ago this month, musician Darryl “Darryl Ray” Jenkins died on May 2, 2019. There was a tribute to Darryl at Ardmore Music Hall on June 30, 2019.

Darryl was born on December 7, 1957, in Philadelphia. His personal bio on his YouTube page says that he was “that hip, mysteriously cool fellow in the club, whose talent, good looks and charm are exceeded only by his love for his craft. A connoisseur of all things related to music. He could teach music himself, if he had the patience.” 

The bio also states that "at the age of 5, he began taking violin lessons at Settlement Music in Philadelphia, where it was discovered that he had perfect pitch. In his teens he began playing several instruments in church including the piano, organ, guitar and bass. After high school he began his love affair with the saxophone. Arriving in Combs College of Music, he learned music theory and majored in Saxophone. He had discovered his niche. Upon leaving Combs, Darryl Ray cut his teeth as a pro sax player on the Philly rock scene, playing in several of the area's most popular bands.” 

His catchphrase on his bio was "I'm a Lifetime Musician." And that was the truth.

In the 1980s, Darryl played in a number of Philly groups including Captain Skyy (with session player Mike Tyler) and later with Dynagroove. In 1997, he played sax for Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings. Later he formed the Blues Outlawz (again with Mike Tyler), an original and cover blues band which was described as “John Lee Hooker meets Method Man.” He also toured with Chubby Checker as the saxophone player. He recorded a debut solo record called, “Rollin’” with producer David Ivory (The Roots, Erykah Badu, Patte Labelle) that was released in February 2006.

I never had an opportunity to meet Darryl in person. He once reached out to let me know that the Little Kings would be reuniting in December 2011. He later posted a picture from that reunion. I would hear some interesting stories from his friend and sometimes manager, Johnny Z. 

And I did get a chance to interview Darryl over the phone for about 30 minutes for my blog, Audio Rumble. He wanted me to wait on posting the interview so he could verify some of the future projects that he had shared with me. Unfortunately, I never did get to post that interview. 

He told me that the next time I was in Philly he wanted me to be on his YouTube show, “Cigars, Booze & Conversation.” 

Later I texted him and said, “Hey Darryl, I’m not famous – I don’t need to be on your show.” He replied, “You’re alright.”