Uplifting homage to the late and much loved British horn player.

Following two singles that received both national and international airplay, Younger Zen issue their third track, Oye Mi Redentor (For Ray), which features British saxophone legend Ray Carless. Although the piece was recorded back in 2007 it now stands as a tribute to the pioneering horn man, whose untimely death last year greatly saddened the jazz and reggae communities, to which he had made an immeasurable contribution over the best part of five decades. He was a link between generations.

Composed by Kevin Le Gendre and produced by Wade Austin, Oye Mi Redentor is a sequel to Cristo Redentor, Younger Zen’s 2021 debut. Translated from Spanish the title means ‘hear my redemption’ and is intended as a form of solace for those who have endured suffering of any kind. Given his excellent performance on the track, the song has become a kind of impromptu memorial for Ray Carless. It is now his tune.

Like Cleveland Watkiss, who produces a scintillating scat vocal solo on Oye, Carless was one of the original members of the seminal black British big band The Jazz Warriors, and he also became a ubiquitous session man between the 80s and 2010s. He played with numerous reggae, lovers rock, funk and soul giants, from the likes of Aswad, Janet Kay and Gregory Isaac to Hi-Tension, Incognito and Cymande. Carless was one of the first musicians Le Gendre sought out after forming Younger Zen precisely because he had the wealth of experience and far reaching knowledge of black music to be able to fully relate to the wide variety of sources that had largely inspired the band. On Oye Mi Redentor Carless creates a gorgeous tenor-soprano harmony on the melodic line of the B section before launching into a cultured solo that blends potently with Watkiss’ impassioned vocal. Both artists work to great effect on a solid foundation of drums and bass that is an unusual hybrid of British and Caribbean rhythms. Carless recorded other material with Younger Zen that will feature on the band’s forthcoming full-length debut album.