GG is still the best band that ever happened. I'm 32 now, discovered them in my late teens.

When I was 17 in 1975, I was in a garage band. The sax player came to one of our "jam sessions" with two albums in tow: Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", and Gentle Giant "Free Hand". At the time we were obsessed with Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever. When we were done for the night, we listened to the Genesis album and I was like..."cool". Then we listened to Free Hand and my life has never been the same. I don't even know how to describe how it made me feel. It was like finding out that there really is a Heaven. The perfect blend of humor and music that stretched and pulled and opened doors into rooms that I didn't know could exist. Thank you Ray. Incredible.

RIP Ray, thank you for the wonderful music that enriched my life!

Someone asked Zappa, are there any other bands you like? Yeah! Gentle Giant are interesting. If Zappa says you're interesting, that means you're brilliant.

I saw GG at Avery Fisher Hall back in 1977...I was 11.....I had an older cousin who was a musician at Berkeley school of music 🎶 who took me to see them...I'd never heard of Gentle Giant..most kids my age where listening to KISS at the time....I WAS ASTOUNDED....to this day ...in the top five shows I've seen.....I'm 57 now ... Still my favorite band of all time ❤

GG music has been part of my musical fabric for 50 years now. What's interesting about those bass parts is that when you listen to them on record, they sound so natural and effortless. It's only when you see them being played by someone other than RS that you realize how complex and difficult to play they actually are - especially when he notes that 'there's no easy way to play this' in terms of hand position, etc. Criminally, heinously underrated bass player and musician, and super chap to boot.

He's gradually become my favourite bass player with every bassline of his I've learned, just utter sophistication, individuality and funkiness. Pair his bass skills with his compositional and multi-instrumentalist prowess and you got yourself one of my top musical heroes, dedication inspiration

Wonderful tribute. Because we are mostly talking about bass here, lets have a hand of applause for drummer John Weathers, who was perfect for Giant. The amazing rock on which they could build anything they wanted.

"His Last Voyage" is one of their most beautiful songs imo. That's cool to know he was behind the chords. I love listening to that song while getting lost in the superstitions

Giant's music touched my heart and Ray was an important part of this. RIP

What a great tribute to the genius of Gentle Giant and of Ray. I started playing guitar and bass at the age of 8 and discovered G.G. when I was 14 y.o. in 1972. Ray was such an inspiration to me in playing what many friends, etc. over the years referred to as playing 'Lead Bass". Like they said in the video that most bassists would look at the score and say 'That's not a bass part!' Thanks to Ray and Gentle Giant for more enjoyment of music, life, etc. than I can convey in this short message!

Ray's the best! He showed me that you can play a bunch of instruments and do things yourself. Ray is a DIY legend and an absolute inspiration. Thanks for this.

I WANT a video with Adam Minkoff palying the whole GG catalogue ! Thanks Antony, Dan and Mike. I love you guys.

One of the best band ever. Hope Ray keeps a candle burning so I can find him on the flip side. Rest in Peace Ray❤

He's been a music hero for me since my teenage years... I love him. Learning The Boys in the Band nowadays in his memory

My favourite group/music of all time unfortunately only saw them twice but have listened to them constantly since Three Friends was released!

Sad to hear about his passing, ..certainly touched by the hand of God, ...amongst other giants, past or present, thank you Ray, live on....your spirit is free and lives on.

Gentle Giant is still my favorite band since my uncle showed me almost 30 years ago! Where Yes needed a complete album with 35-40 minutes GG put it in a 4-5 minute song. Genius! Unique!

Thank you to all who participated in this beautiful and skillful tribute. Seeing and hearing some of Ray's endlessly inventive bass parts is a real treat!

I bought most of the albums, not every one. I was astounded, though I was not able to understand them fully as a young 'un. Then I eventually realised that although I found them "challenging" musically as a kid, who schooled himself on Status Quo and Black Sabbath, that was another fun in and of itself. I was lucky enough to see them live twice. In England and West Germany. Highly accomplished lads and entertaining throughout.

I had the great fortune, to follow the group since "Simon Dupree & the Big Sound" and I saw and heard them twice in Germany. It was enormous! I grew up with them. And they are still my scale for modern rock music. And I still miss them! 😌

Really sad news. I am just a absolute fan since my 15 years old...

thank you for this. There will never be enough praise for this unique band, a real musical miracle, and you're contributing to share the knowledge. And thanks for these interviews, seeing some teary eyes was so genuine and warm. RIP Ray, genius, you will be missed.

Thank you for this. A Gentle Giant indeed.

GG has been my Dessert Island band since I first saw them in 1971 opening for Jethro Tull in Frankfurt, Germany. I was there to see Tull and had no idea who GG were. Well, they opened with ALUCARD and proceeded to permanently blow my mind ! I knew then that I could never go back to where I was before. After more than 50 years of listening, they continue to be my favorite band and was so glad to happen upon this fantastic tribute to the band I consider the GOAT and to a brilliant bass player/multi-instrumentalist without peer. I shed a few tears when Ray passed so, well done and many thanks for this wonderful tribute!

Wow, thank you so much for this perfect tribute. At the age of 13 in 73, I became a huge Gentle Giant fan for life and ray remains my bass hero to this day, amongst so many others of course. I saw G.G. a total of 6 times in Montreal and played many G.G. tunes in my prog cover bands. To me G.G. were 2 totally unique entities, a studio band and a live act. The 1st time I saw them live, I was wondering how the hell where they ever be able to pull some of these brilliant songs live. I was left in awe at the various new arrangements of these songs and the amount of energy projected on to the audience. Thank you so much Ray and G.G. for the inspiration and beyond a lifetime of music!

I have two Ray moments: I believe in 1973 (maybe 74) I had just discovered GG along with my friends. The only albums we knew were Three Friends and Octopus which hadn't been out long when they came to our town, Dallas. They played the Majestic Theater which is a wonderful former movie theater turned venue. Concert was presented by KZEW, the Zoo, a popular FM rock station. There were only about 30 people in attendance. Steeleye Span opened for GG and they put on an impressive show. We knew so little about GG except the music on TF and Octopus. We didn't know what to expect and we all felt a little embarrassed about the tiny turnout in such a large venue. They came out and played it like it was a 20000 seat arena concert. Never seen that much energy in my life from a rock band. Later, after the concert we went around to the backstage door to see if we could talk to them. Banged on the door and lo and behold a stagehand opened the door and immediately coming down the stairs was Ray Shulman. There were about 10 of us standing there saying we wanted to speak to Kerry. Ray said Kerry would be down. Later Kerry and John came down and stood and talked to us for almost 30 minutes. Ray came back a couple of times and on the second return he had a paper plate with some pineapple on it. He was so kind and offered us all a piece. I took a piece and Ray smiled at me and we had a great conversation. I'll never forget that concert and afterward as long as I live. My second Ray moment happened a few years later when my band Hands opened for GG at the Electric Ballroom in Dallas. All of the GG members were so kind to us. After we had finished our set and while they were striking the stage I was standing at the side stage zone and Ray and my drummer were standing there just hanging out . Ray told me how much he enjoyed our set. Very soft spoken but extremely encouraging. The other members of Hands have similar stories where they individually talked to Ray and others at sound check and between the sets. Ray was very complimentary to our bass player Steve as well. I think he could hear the deep influence of GG in our music. Priceless!

Love Ray, love GG, timeless music, even the fans are great

Wow. Its so sad that Ray passed away. I listen to Gentle Giant all the time. I had no idea. So sorry to hear of Ray's passing. RIP Ray.

Ray was an amazing musician.

Amazing tribute guys. I saw GG twice, in Brussels. One of the rare progrock bands which music has stand the test of time. My favorite album is Free Hand.

Wonderful

A Descendents t-shirt! I wasn't expecting that.... and I'm a big fan of GG and Descendents.... I mean, not many people love prog rock and 80s SST punk rock.... Pretty weird indeed! Great tribute by the way.

I've followed Gentle Giant since '73 - saw them in concert twice. The second time, front row seat. Their music played a big part in my life.

Awesome. Excellent. Thank you. Yes, I cried at the end.

Beautifully put together - thank you. Such a creative, brilliant and gentle man.

I saw Gentle Giant Live, in Oct, '72, when they were on tour with and opening for Jethro Tull. I had never heard of the band, but I knew I was witnessing something extraordinary. From that moment on I followed the band. I have deep respect for GG because they were purists, and did their own unique music without concern for 'what's going to sell records'. Their compositions were inimitable, and appealed to a smaller audience than did Tull, or most Uk bands. I was fortunate to have seen them Live.

Thank you so much for this video!! It's a wonderful tribute to one of the most talented musicians I ever had the pleasure to see live. The whole band is phenomenal but Ray was definitely special and one of a kind. His passing a great loss

Between 1971-74 I attended King Alfred’s College, Winchester, for teacher training. One of the older students there, Rick Fudge, with whom I became acquainted, was a close friend of Ray Schulman and I also became friendly with Ray during that time. In spring 1973 Rick arranged to have Gentle Giant play their first post Phil gig in the college theatre (they had played there once before in 1971 and a bootleg quality recording is available). I and my close friend, Martin Kempton, were the unofficial student technicians at the theatre at the time and so were entrusted with lighting the gig. The roadies arrived at about 11am and we set about rigging the lights to their specifications. We were told that the band didn’t want any flashing lights but wanted the lighting to create a mood to reflect the music. The theatre was fairly small and only held 200 people. Naturally it was full that night. Martin and I had prime seats from the control room of the theatre behind the mixing desk. I remember there being a tremendous energy in the music yet they were clearly nervous about the show. Earlier we had cheekily turned on the show relay system to listen in on them in the dressing room and we could hear them rehearsing the harmonies for some of the set to be played. We did bootleg that gig ourselves but the tape has been lost - oh the tragedy! So many have quoted how humble and self-effacing Ray was. That was my experience of him. Two years later I was with that group of now ex-students and Ray who went to see Chick Corea and the Return to Forever at The Rainbow. When Ray saw I was there he came up straight away and said it was good to see me, asked how I was and how was I getting on in my new job. The week before he had just played in front of goodness knows how many people at Madison Square Gardens yet he was more interested in my fledgling career as a drama teacher in Hampshire. With the absence of social media etc that little group of people drifted apart and I never crossed paths with Ray again. I did follow his career and began to hear he was in poor health. It was with great sadness that I read of his death. One of music’s real gentlemen and towering talent.

I heard free hand in '75 and that was it...there is rock music and then, at the tippy top is The Giant!

Free Hand was my first GG album, and is still my favourite. Then I got Interview and worked back from there. Ray Shulman's awesome basslines, together with John Weather's pounding drums, are the rock upon which the astonishing musical edifice that is Gentle Giant was built. RIP.

On the first 8 albums all songs are credited to Minnear and all Shulman brothers in the band at that time. Kerry and Ray wrote most of the thnes and Phil and Ceredk wrote the lyrics. Derek was known to present entire songs to the band as well. Great band.

Impressive MIDI recreations from Adam. Good grooves.

Thanks so much for this! I'm a huge Gentle Giant fan and even got to meet them back in 1975 in Chicago. They're the reason I switched majors from piano to composition. Ended up with a nice career as a composer.

Me too i consider gentle Giant one of the biggest,if not the biigest progressive rock groups...Back in early '70s ,in Romania, i was lucky enough to find a copy,original UK "swirl" pressing of their 1-st record and once I saw the front picture,i was instantly sure I will like the music..and it was like that !... I have all their vinyl records in my collection,mostly the original pressings and their music will be forever in my hart , with painful moments when their first drummer and now Ray , passed away....

OMG - where have you been for the last 43 years!! I play bass as a direct result of seeing Giant in 1975 - Free Hand tour - which was for me a life changing moment! For the last 40 odd years, I've been wrangling around the fretboard trying to play Ray's bass lines, sometimes successfully other times not so. These transcriptions and visuals are fantastic. I'm so impressed but at the same time pleased that I actually got some of them 100% right! IMO any aspiring bass player should definitely study Ray's compositional skills on the bass. Also, I am also a massive Scott Tunes fan and thanks to Mike Keneally, I now know why!

Ray was a Genius musician. Great tribute. Amazing video and work as well.

Beautiful tribute. Thank you.

Fantastic tribute! Thank you so much for sharing.

My personal memory of gg is Carré doesn't remember the year, I think we were 17 and listening to that beautiful concert carrying instruments to stage with care and love and then...... it starts with sound going around by Carré first song is started then only but admiration and especially amazement at how these men do all this live. Literally speechless after the last score, glued to the chair. Boy, not really a big fan yet, they change nicely while we wait, we go to a pub next to Carré for a coke of cognac and we slowly felt ourselves descending onto mother earth. Funny, we live almost opposite and I went there again just before leaving to have a beer and I always think back to this. Memory for life

What a fantastic video for us Gentle Giant nerds - thank you Anthony! RIP Ray Shulman, a uniquely talented person in so many areas.

GG created some of the best ballards ever as well as all of the other stuff.Some real tear-jerkers in there...

Very sad news, waa not aware of Ray's passing. Of the many bands I admire Gentle Giant is in the top 5. Zeppelin, Deep purple, Tull. G.G level of musicianship just can't be ignored. I've mentioned this in prior comments I saw them as the opening act for Supertramp Even in the Quietest Moments album release tour in New York Supertramp was good but, at the end of the show I was blown away with Gentle Giant . Sometimes you wish people you admire were spared of death or, suffering like that disturbing scene in "Immortal Beloved" where Beethoven is lying in the gutter in his urine people walking by not caring. Thanks Ray, r.i.p 😢

Long Live The Giant!! 'Time To Kill' is a perfect example of where GG was highly influenced by Motown funk and soul. They should not be compared to, nor are they anywhere near, the music of Yes, Genesis or any of their contemporaries; including VDGG. I've always said it, from the first time I listened to them: GG were a funky jazz fusion band with classical leanings. Many have disagreed with me, but here we have a musician confirming what I've always heard in their music!

😢😢😢😢😢

I’m grateful I got turned on to them in ‘75. I’m thankful to understand and appreciate the complexity that flies over the heads of the masses

Ray was one of my heroes. Such a great multi-instrumentalist. He influenced my playing for over 50 years. I play 8 instruments and credit Ray (in part) for inspiring that part of me.

great stuff, anthony and all involved! what a treat!

Three friends of GG was the first album I bought as a 15 year old. My mother and sister whet crazy and said that a child could play that music. Well... I studied conservatory bass and I do have a tad different opinion...Strangely enough I only recently discovered how an amazing bass player Ray was. I guess I was listening more to the whole compositions and more tuned to the feeling they bring about. So also later I discovered the killer tone of he got out of his P bass with plectrum. I am utterly interested in transcriptions of the bass lines. I think it becomes time that I play all of the lines of my most favorite band ever.

Very nice - thanks for this. Composed, tricky bass parts that groove? That's Chris Squire's MO, and of all the 70's prog bassists Ray was the closest in sound, style and musical attitude to Chris Squire that I can think of (or maybe it was the other way around! 😃) Cheers, Ray. RIP.

That was the very song that hooked me on Gentle Giant

Im 64 and was a huge prog fan throughout the 70s, i can't even remember them in magazines, radio or TV, like so many great bands of that era that never made it big

Thanks Anthony. Ray was amazing. This tribute is well deserved. Hope you're doing well. I don't miss Facebook, except for the Gentle Giant group. I miss that a lot. Michael.

0:40 I believe this question does apply for a lot of Gentle Giant's discography

Thank you for making this!

I became a massive fan at the age of 19 when I discovered the progressive rock of the seventies. I started playing bass at the age of 10 but discovered Ray's bass playing much later in life. Now I have a Fender Precision 60's Sunburst bass just like Ray, and I play lots of Ray's lines and songs with as much accuracy as possible.

Incredible video this-such detail-well done and RIP Ray!

Really enjoyed this Reflection on Ray's place in Gentle Giant and our memories of his legacy. Quite special. Like many I am digging in deep to learn my Gentle Giant cataloge of chops...so to speak. It was really cool to learn about Adam Minkoff's great effort in transcribing full albums for the full instrumentation score. Midi format to boot. What an amazing teaching tool! Has there been an update of Adam's release of these midi transcriptions online somewhere? I did look upon Adam's website but alas I could not find anything. Thank you again for such a great little watch with insightful speakers. Ray was so damn special to me. My fascination with him and all of Gentle Giant has lasted for almost 30 years. It's one of those music "types" that just makes you feel like it was made just for you....it's like bang...wow...this music is exactly what I crave. Special. Hence the excitement for a possibility of multi instrument transcriptions done by a real pro like Adam. That's Huge. Please fill me in if possible. Cheers

Thank you for this. Your show for this was a fitting tribute.

Personal recollection: seeing GG at Denver's Ebbets Field club (same place where Gary met his wife Judy, and where Pugwash herniated something abdominal while scrambling from the kit to the vibes during "Knots" -- during the show I saw!)... When they played "Proclamation," where Ray's part starts with a series of 4 whole notes, on each note he (a) bugged out his eyes, then (b) started slowly turning away, only to (c) spin back to full-front and bug out his eyes again... except on the final staccato note, where he just pulled back and smiled. Silly and wonderful! He had a great sense of humor, as well as an astonishing amount of musical talent.

😪

Playing bass along with Gentle Giant tunes is easy. Listen to the song for a few seconds get a little grasp on the key and the notes that work for that song, then jam away with it- any note at any time will sound right. What a blast.

Fabulous!!❤️🙏❤️🙏

Excellent video as always. It was great seeing these incredible parts performed on bass. RIP.

I saw GG live in the sportshall of a schoolcenter in 1975. It was great.

Saw them 3 times in shefgield amazing superb band..

There is no question that anyone who was a performing member of Gentle Giant was an incredible musician. Ray and Gary were certainly underated, as you so clearly point out in this video. I was so lucky to see them, just once, in Toronto at Massey Hall, in the mid-seventies - what a thrill. Even better - the next day I was in my favorite record store, Sam the Record Man (it was Canada's biggest and best, like Towers once was in the U.S.), making my weekly pilgrimage, worked my way up to the classical section, and there in front of me, was Kerry Minnear, browsing through the records, "...just the same as anybody else". We chatted briefly. I miss those days and those groups.

Marvelous! Thanks for this (and for demystifying some of Ray's bass lines!) I had always hoped to meet Ray someday... now perhaps in another life? Cheers, T.

incredible! Thanks so much for this.

Saw GG probably 4 times throughout Europe. Ray was amazing and like so many other bass players that have gone (Nik Potter, Greg Lake, and John Wetton), his presence is missed. It was always fun watching GG perform live. You could tell that they enjoyed playing for themselves and hopefully audiences would like it, too.

My favorite ray song is “Winning”. Such a churning and funky bass line. So excited for the Steven Wilson mix I’m hoping the bass comes through more.

I've listened to "His Last Voyage" a zillion times but never heard this guitar chord progression within the chorus before. Listening to it again just now does indeed prove it's there, but it is buried in the mix and not at all prominent. Interesting that you picked it out and had Gary Green teach it to you. That it was Ray does not surprise me.

Wow! Seeing these bass transcriptions and hearing the bass isolated on the recordings is so eye-opening, or rather ear-opening. They are so amazing. Thank you Adam for a fantastic job on this. I have a new-found respect for Ray.

Without doubt one of my fav bands ever. Had the pleasure of seeing them live on several occasions and they were simply brilliant. Ray was an effortless `multi-instrumentalist` and seeing him live made you appreciate his skill/dexterity. Hats off to you guys for this engaging/informative and entertaining tribute.

Geez. Just read the news a minute ago. So sorry I did not know that he passed away in march this year. Since I got more and more fascinated by GG 's music, the news of his passing shook me more than I had expected, news of passing musical heroes always mean a hard time to me (autism, trouble with turning a page in life) . and I will remain to treasure GG's music. We odd music lovers will never forget you. My condolences to his former band mates and his brothers of course.

I saw GG first when they opened for Jethro Tull at The Baltimore Civic Center. Mind still blown!

Thanks for focusing on Ray's inventive, athletic, and unique bass playing. I was hoping you'd talk about the bass line on Schooldays from Three Friends -- under the radar, but a gem if you find it. I have loved this band since Octopus was new, and Ray was always my favorite.

Oh man! I got emotional watching this!!😢❤

I love how Gentle Giant is cleverly juxtaposed slightly out of reach of the average music listener... They are a challenge (a rewarding challenge)

Excellent video, Thank you

I got to see them at a bar in New Jersey in 72 or 73 for 5 bucks

Ray Shulman was the Ric Grech of Gentle Giant... could play both bass and violin!

I really hope the MIDI music comes out sometime. Any idea if this will be available anytime? 😍

if you listen to the live guitar duets, which were written by Ray, you can hear all sorts of examples of the same compositional approach to rhythm and harmony that runs through all of Giant’s music. It helps to figure out which parts were Ray’s and which were Kerry’s. But then they started influencing each other, Kerry writing Ray-like stuff and vice versa.

This was beautiful. Gentle Giant, and Rayås playing will always be a huge part of my musical soul. Would love to check out the work Adam Minkoff has done with MIDI filøes, as transcribing some of the works in itself is a huge accomplishment - not to mention the music itself being incredible! Great job, great video and thank you all! RIP Ray Shulman

Great work, thank you.

Grazie!

Hey Ant - GREAT video! I remember Mike Deitch played me "Way of Life" - it was the first thing I'd heard from GG and at the time I was playing bass and was astonished that someone would write a bass line like that. SO creative. Totally blew me away - and I went out and bought the album that night (it was only available as an "English Import" at the time and was expensive - probably 7 bucks LOL). GG blew my mind, certainly as a vocalist, but also as a bass player. And discovered at a much later date that Ray was responsible for composing a lot of GG music made me admire him even more. Ray is one of the unsung heroes of GG. I had no idea he was so active after GG disbanded. But I suppose music is part of his soul. He was IMHO, one of the most creative bass players of his time. Dan, Bjorn and Mike's contributions were lovely as well. One thing of which I'm sure you're aware - your voice is out of sync (delay) on the Zoom with Adam.

Love it!

I got to see Gentle Giant 4 times in the 70s. IMO Yes were influenced by GG in the song Sound Chaser. Squire was fond of GG.