I actually had the immense privilege of meeting Ray back in the 90s, and coincidentally the first question I asked him when we got to chatting was why he didin"t play B3 from the get go. He mentioned the schlep factor was one consideration, but of equal consideration was a local B3 player who used to play the strip, and for the life of me I can"t remember the name Ray dropped. Ray, being the humble gentlemen that he was, admitted that he and other keyboard players hanging around the strip in those days were pretty much too intimidated to play B3 as this local cat was just too good. Wish I could remember the guy"s name! When I think about the conversation, it may have been Jimmy Smith, but that was a while back... Regardless, Ray definitely seemed to convey that proper B3 playing was just not his bag. There were no clones in those days. Either you could afford a B3, knew how to play and maintain it, (and were prepared to shlep it), or you simply opted for a combo.
Personally, I understood much later that Ray was primarily a piano player at heart, and like most of us who trained on piano, you realize that the B3 is it"s own thing. I totally get why he primarily played the combo. Lots of players preferred it in that era, and through subsequent eras. Auggie Meyer, Alan Price, Steve Nieve, etc. The Hammond is not everyone"s bag.
In my biased personal view, Ray is #1. â¤ï¸ Love everything about him. So unique. So original. Unafraid to be himself. Love that he never anglicized his Polish last name. Love how he juxtaposed his south-side musical influences with baroque counterpoint. Love how he rocked the piano bass while soloing. Love his humble, gentlemanly demeanour. Love how later on, John Doe and X and all of the west coast punks dug Ray. Ray"s my man. Wish he was still with us.