Raymond Perry at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Dominion Energy Jazz Café (Photo by Jay Paul)
The music filling the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Cochrane Atrium on Wednesday nights changes every week, but the vibe is consistently uplifting, welcoming and energetic. Some would attribute that to the beats, but regulars point to one man — Raymond Perry — as a reason why so many keep coming back for more.
Perry and his wife, Crystal, first came to VMFA’s Dominion Energy Jazz Café years ago at the invitation of friends. That evening, a young woman took their picture and emailed it to them. “I was really impressed by what that did for us; it showed us how happy we were,” Perry says. “That was what gave me the idea. You’re never too old to really have fun and enjoy yourself. You get a good picture of yourself smiling, it does something to you.”
Now, it’s Perry who takes the pictures, gliding among the tables and chairs as the music plays, capturing the various groupings drawn to the event: friends old and new, couples, families with strollers and school-age children, retirees, hipsters, professional dancers, and those who just sway to the music. At home, Perry prints the photos and brings them with him the following week, hoping that his subjects will return for their images. He also makes sheets with thumbnail prints — a visual attendance record of sorts — to keep in photo albums.
“For the entire audience and the musicians, Mr. Ray is our ambassador who captures the unique diversity and ambience of the jazz cafe experience,” says B.J. Brown, executive director of the Richmond Jazz Society, via email. The society has organized programming since the Jazz Café began in 2010; sponsorship from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation began in 2015 and this summer was extended another three years.
“He recently donated boxes of his photo albums to RJS,” Brown adds. “Now I have the wonderful ‘chore’ of documenting them for our archives.”
Crystal and Raymond Perry and a collage featuring some of the many photos Raymond has captured at the Jazz Café over the years (Photo by Jay Paul)
Celeste Fetta, VMFA’s Joan P. Brock director of education, says jazz nights spotlight local musicians, provide access to the arts and introduce the museum to new audiences. “The series has also built a following, with regulars attending week after week,” she notes in an email. “Seats fill up quickly, and standing room is limited!”
Perry, an 80-something retiree who worked in public health for most of his career, typically arrives for the Jazz Café with Crystal and a friend well before the official start time of 6 p.m., snagging a table in the center of the second row. During the performance, the group around the table swells to eight or more, depending on who happens to stop by to say hello.
Warren and Tammy Ross, who moved to Richmond from Boston in 2010, happened upon the Jazz Café in its original location in the museum’s Best Café, a much smaller space. “We meandered in, we sat down with some people,” Warren Ross says. “Ultimately, we ended up at Raymond’s and Crystal’s table. They’ve become dear, dear friends. They are loving and giving people, people you want to be around.”
One of the best aspects of the evening, Ross says, is the variety — in all its forms. “There are intellectual types of jazz, and [there’s] also highly danceable music,” he says. “B.J. [Brown] brings in all sorts of different music … and music naturally brings together people of different races, politics, persuasions together. You’re not thinking about cliques and groups and where you belong.”
The crowd enjoys the music in the VMFA atrium (Crystal and Raymond are seated at a table toward the center). (Photograph by Sandra Sellars, © 2022 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
Ross credits Perry with creating the community atmosphere that has become the hallmark of the evening. “What he does is radical welcoming,” Ross says. “Not only does he take your picture, but he shows it to you and then tells you he’ll have a print for you. I believe he’s motivated people to come in an additional time or two. How many places can you go and be welcomed and be motivated to come back? Raymond is really an example of the type of man I want to be, what we want all men to be.”
Perry doesn’t ask for any payment, although friends have collected money to help offset his costs. And while he has a fancy Olympus camera at home, he uses a simple Canon PowerShot for jazz nights, so he can take a photo and then turn the camera around to show the subject how they look.
Perry says his only goal is to help people tap into joy. “This experience, the people who come here, they will make you feel good,” he says. “Whatever your problem is, you can come here and you can forget it.”
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