Ray’s parents separated around the time he finished school at the age of sixteen and tranquillity returned to the household.  Ray had never been a fan of school and didn’t get on well with the teachers. When Ray ceased attending school, nobody seemed to notice, or at least nobody told Ray to return to class. Rather than academics, Ray’s talents lay with hands-on activities and in designing and making things. With his sister, Ray made fish mobiles from brass sourced in China Town.  Buddhist symbols, they were considered to bring good luck. Originally the pair made them only for family members but were eventually also selling them in Central in Bangkok.

Throughout his work life, Ray turned his hand to a myriad of different tasks to earn a living, building on his childhood interest of designing and creating, using anything he could readily find. A keen gardener, Ray has a particular skill with bonsai, and likes to work with landscape design, on stone ponds, fountains and waterfalls.  Ray spent some time waiting tables at Maison Restaurant in Oriental Plaza and also worked for a property company. Ray learnt that he has considerable talent as a salesman, due surely to his ability to forge strong interpersonal relationships.  He credits himself a good judge of people, able to determine whether they are genuine by the way they meet his direct gaze.

Ray refers to long-standing Thai belief when he calls himself as a Thursday child since he was born on that day. Many Thais believe that children born on Thursday become peaceful, honest, calm adults who are good at getting on with others.  Ray certainly seems to fit that mould. Eighteen years ago, Ray opened the original Ray’s Place.  Located conveniently close to the Night Market, on the corner of Sa Song Road, the music venue was quick to catch the ear of Western tourists, regular returning visitors and expats. Although he will tell you he loves music in all its forms, Ray was particularly interested in learning and playing Western music, which quickly made English speakers feel at home.  While gently playing “I did it my way” on his beloved vintage 1950s piano-accordion, Ray revealed an eclectic group of favourite music and musicians, from waltz 2 by Shostakovich to songs by Frank Sinatra, Marc Antony, Glorian Estefan and Tom Jones, admitting there is something very attractive about Latin-American tunes.  Ray himself sings and plays the harmonica, bongo drums and the accordion, which he taught himself to play after taking possession of his prized instrument.

Over the years, Ray’s Place has become the stuff of legend as Ray gathered music enthusiasts from all over the world for his famous jam sessions where anyone and everyone was invited to join in to create an international harmony.  There are people still living in Hua Hin who have been part of the Ray’s Place phenomenon since its inception. Mr Bob, an 86-year-old saxophonist is one long-time participant who springs immediately to Ray’s grateful mind. Although the physical venue for Ray’s Place has moved several times, its most recent venue being at Woodstock, the bar owned by Ped Bluesman, the venue itself is mainly irrelevant. Ray’s Place is a magical place in the heart, wherever Ray joins with friends and acquaintances to make sweet jazz. He has formed a core band which usually consists of a drummer, saxophonist, bass guitarist, keyboard player, flautist and sometimes a trombonist as well as a vocalist, but depending on the night, the numbers on stage can swell dramatically.

Synonymous with Ray’s Place was his large and diverse collection of national flags, gifted to him over the years by satisfied participants and audience members.  Readers will be saddened to learn that some time ago now, the whole collection was stolen. If you have ever enjoyed Ray’s Place and would like to contribute a small-sized flag from your home country, Ray would be delighted to accept.  Having the flags on display during the jam sessions was a clear signal that everyone was welcome to participate.

Really, to stick with the tradition, Ray needs new flags! If you can pack one in your bag for season 2025, it would be most appreciated.

Many musicians like to tour, and those at Ray’s Place were no exception, so the idea of the Jazz Train was born and many highly successful voyages followed, the inaugural Jazz Train leaving Hua Hin on 12th December 2007, southbound to Baan Krut. An entire carriage of a train from Bangkok was chartered, and the participants spent 3 hours on the train being entertained in true Ray’s Place fashion before disembarking to a welcome from local school children in the form of a traditional Thai dance.  An evening beachside dinner and concert at a resort followed, with a side trip to a well-known Wat the following morning before a coach return to Hua Hin. This model was often repeated, with different resort and town destinations, sometimes up to 3 times in the high season, (coinciding with the Northern winter) so Ray has difficulty stating definitively how many Jazz Trains there were. However, he will never forget the acclaim they received from their patrons.

Although he is now in his middle 60s, Ray shows no real sign of wanting to slow down. He admits that though a trip to Japan and China featured on his bucket-list for a while, he is now content to holiday closer to home.  Ray and Pukky, his wife of more than 20 years, are able to please themselves, having no children to consider, apart that is from their 16-year-old dog Samba who follows Ray everywhere and will run after the car if Ray forgets to shut her safely inside before going out.  Apparently, Samba also loved her time on the Jazz Train.

Good ideas grow and snowball, and Ray is still full of them.  Close to his heart is the successor to the Jazz Train, the Jazz Plane! If you are as keen on a chartered trip to Chiang Mai as Ray is, you might like to contact him as the planning will be bigger than one person, even one with a heart and smile as big as Ray’s, can handle on their own.

Ray’s single biggest aim in life has been to make others happy.  He imagines he does this with his cooking, his singing, his playing and his teaching: meeting the many and varied needs of the people who surround him.  Ray acknowledges, however, that although he has thousands of acquaintances who rush for a word, a hug and a warm smile, he has a smaller number of close friends.  Ray has a friendly face and an impeccably polite smile and “wai” for everyone, but is wise enough to know true friendship requires mutual trust as well as respect.

One thing that stands out when trying to properly understand Ray’s gentleness is that his parent’s troubled marriage and the fighting he witnessed as a child have had a profound impact on the man he became, abhorring any form of dispute. Another thing that Ray will not tolerate is cruelty to animals. What does make Ray happy is interacting with children, and seeing them grow and learn to be respectful. In contrast the only other thing likely to cause Ray concern is seeing people who behave selfishly, who won’t consider the needs of others such as the pregnant or elderly on public transport.  This is enough to bring a grimace to Ray’s smooth face. A clear mark of Ray’s selflessness is that he has already made clear his desire to donate any useful organs upon his eventual demise, rather than see them turned to ashes.

Ray is a gentle man as well as a gentleman. He is a determined communicator, whether he is using words, or the more universal language of music to broadcast his happiness.