1950 – 2025 · Our Founder
Saxophonist · Educator · Community Builder
A New York-bred musician who performed on stages from Harlem to Helsinki, mentored generations of jazz students, and built a nonprofit that changed the cultural life of Westchester County.
Read His Story
Who He Was
Ray was a New York-bred saxophonist and educator who performed and conducted workshops and masterclasses internationally. Over the course of a remarkable career, he shared the stage and studio — as leader and sideman — with some of the most celebrated names in jazz history. He performed at major international jazz festivals across four continents, released seven albums as a bandleader under the Jazzheads label, and earned numerous awards and proclamations recognizing his contributions to jazz and his community.
But Ray was never just a musician. He was a teacher, a mentor, a community organizer, and a bridge-builder. He founded Cross-Cultural Connection in 2006 because he believed jazz had something essential to offer every community — not just concert halls, but schools, parks, and street corners. That belief never wavered in over 20 years of work.
He passed in 2025, leaving behind a legacy measured not only in recordings and festival stages, but in the hundreds of students whose lives he touched and the community he helped build in Peekskill and beyond.
Beyond the Stage
Ray's greatest accomplishments may have been the ones with no audience at all — in rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and backstage, mentoring the next generation of musicians.
Ray with members of the CCC Ensemble and fellow musicians at a workshop session.
Ray with the 2024 CCC scholarship recipients — the students he mentored carrying the music forward.
August 16, 2025
Months after his passing, Peekskill gathered downtown for an evening honoring Ray's life and legacy — an afternoon of music that stretched into a night of speeches, song, and a city's gratitude, capped by a New York City Council proclamation in his name.
Musicians filled the street in downtown Peekskill for an evening of music in Ray's honor.
The community turned out in force, filling the street to remember Ray together.
Friends, fellow musicians, and the mayor of Peekskill shared memories and stories throughout the evening.
An emotional performance carried the spirit of the evening late into the night.
Riitta Blue with the New York City Council proclamation issued in Ray's honor.
A night of shared memory, gratitude, and community.
"Jazz is how we find each other across every divide that the world puts between us."
— Ray Blue, 1950 – 2025
Learn more at www.rayblue.com (coming soon)
Honor His Legacy
The best way to honor Ray is to keep his mission alive. Your gift supports the Ray Blue Memorial Fund he would have wanted — one that puts the next generation of jazz musicians on stage.
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