Musician Ray Gelato: ‘Soho’s not what it used to be, but it never was’

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Ray Gelato is a jazz, swing and jump-blues saxophonist, singer and bandleader. Born Ray Keith Irwin in 1961, he’s the son of a Jewish mother and a father who was an American soldier who was stationed in the UK. Ray began learning tenor sax in his late teens, and was playing professionally by around 1980. His career began with The Chevalier Brothers - who coined his now famous nickname. He later formed his own band: Ray Gelato & The Giants. His sound sits somewhere between jazz, swing, jump blues and rhythm & blues, drawing particularly on the great American entertainers of the 1940s and 50s. You can still hear Ray perform at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho, including at his established Christmas residency there. Over the years, he’s also performed for Queen Elizabeth II and played for Paul McCartney at his personal request. Ray Gelato revealed his London favourites, memories, pet-hates and everything in between with Robert Elms.