Ray Vanderby arrived in Australia from The Netherlands in 1959 when he was 6 years old and it only took another 5 years for his fingers to find their way to the piano of the Sunday School Hall at the Methodist Church in Orange. His parents arranged organ lessons for him and 1 year later in 1964 Ray was the youngest semi-professional organist in Australia. He held a 4 year residency at the Canobolas Hotel and Duntryleague Golf Club working alongside local jazz musicians. After completing a 4 year piano tuning apprenticeship with WH Palings at 20 Ray moved to Sydney where he frequented jazz haunts like The Rocks Push after being influenced by Mike Nock, Jimmy Smith, Oscar Peterson and Andre Previn through his teen years. He tuned pianos for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and by chance tuned George Young's piano from The Easybeats. George heard Ray play and quickly organised for Malcolm Young from AC/DC to pick up his keyboards so he could rehearse and go on tour with Stevie Wright.

In 1974 after the Stevie Wright tour Ray landed a job as the in-house session keyboards sideman at EMI Studios 301 in Castlereagh Street Sydney working with producer G.Wayne Thomas and engineer Richard Lush. Ray also went on to tour and record with Marcia Hines, 2 line-ups of Blackfeather, John English, Doug Parkinson and would drop in to Daly Wilson Big Band rehearsals on Saturday mornings in Cleveland Street to check out Col Nolan. Being a versatile player Ray went on to record and perform in various genres over the pursuing years always keeping his passion for jazz alive by listening to Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Weather Report and John McLaughlan. In 1991 Ray entered an original composition in the W.R.O.C./BMG Australian National Song Writing Competition which won first prize out of 2,500 entries. Ray has lived, performed and recorded in 4 states throughout Australia playing numerous shows at small country pubs, blues and jazz festivals, capitol city venues to supporting Osibisa and Boomtown Rats at the Capitol Theatre and Joe Cocker at Myer Music Bowl.

Ray Vanderby has an undying passion for composition, recording and performing and he shows no sign of slowing down. In February 2009 at the age of 56 he founded the Orange Jazz Club Inc. which he uses as a vehicle for gigs and promoting modern contemporary jazz throughout Central West NSW. Ray plays by ear and is constantly looking for new horizons to challenge the various forms of improvisation. In 2009 he recorded an album called Orange Not Blue with his Hammond Combo, in 2010 he released 2 jazz piano albums Amoresque with the Ray Vanderby Quartet and Ju Ju - Live at the Mirror Bar with the Ray Vanderby Trio. His passionate hunger for composing and improvising knows no bounds as this self taught pianist carves out yet another album about the life and birthplace of Banjo Patterson. As a kid Ray roamed and explored unknowingly all over the country on the outskirts of Orange called Narrambla, the birthplace of Banjo Patterson at Templers Homestead. So Ray has found the inspiration to compose the 2011 release Narrambla Calling album using his childhood memories and local musicians to form the Ray Vanderby Quartet.

 Amoresque - "unexpected twists and delights”
Mike Nock