Ray Draper was an excellent tuba soloist, one of the few in the 1950s to utilize the instrument for bop improvisations. After attending the Manhattan School of Music, he played and recorded with Jackie McLean (1956-1957), worked with Donald Byrd, and recorded with John Coltrane (1958). Draper was with Max Roach's band (1958-1959) and worked with Don Cherry in the early '60s. However, from that point on drugs played havoc with his life.

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