Schon als Teenager machte er sich auf, um die einzigartigen Vibes der Karibikinsel Jamaika aufzusaugen.
Er hat Jamaika und die Kultur mit großem Respekt aufgenommen und den direkten Draht zu den Menschen dort gesucht – genau das macht diesen Künstler aus. Nach über 1000 Konzerten rund um den Globus ist es immer diese verbindende Energie, die ihn als Künstler ausmacht – der direkte Draht zu den Menschen. Spätestens seit seiner Hitsingle „Intoxication“, die in der Karibik den Sommer 2004 musikalisch geprägt hatte, gehört er zur absoluten Top Riege der internationalen Reggae Gemeinschaft und Festivallandschaft.
In über 25 Jahren entstanden dabei über 100 Kollaborationen mit Top Stars wie: Shaggy, Sean Paul, Marcia Griffiths, Tanya Stephens, Ky-Mani Marley, Christopher Martin, um nur einige Jamaikaner aufzuzählen. Auch in den USA hat Gentleman mit einigen Stars zusammengearbeitet: Aloe Blacc, Pink, Destiny´s Child, SOJA, Michael Franti uvam.
Selbst in unseren Breitengraden ist die Liste lang und bekannt: Freundeskreis, Udo Lindenberg, Die Toten Hosen, Michael Patrick Kelly, Beginner uvam.
Gentleman veröffentlichte über 12 Alben mit 4 Gold- und einer Platinauszeichnung. Darunter mittlerweile Genre-Klassiker wie „Journey to Jah“, „Confidence“ oder das großartige „MTV Unplugged“. 
Zusammenfassend kann man dem Reggae Connaisseur und Autor Ulli Güldner nur zustimmen, in dem er Gentleman als „bis heute ersten & einzigen Reggae-A-List-Ambassador dieses Landes“ tituliert.

Vanguard Records, part of Concord Bicycle Music’s Fantasy Label Group, is one of the world’s leading independent record labels. Its eclectic roster of quality artists includes Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Switchfoot, O.A.R., Flogging Molly, Parachute, Sallie Ford, Matt Nathanson, Chris Isaak, Barenaked Ladies, Greg Laswell, Trevor Hall, Indigo Girls, and more. It’s rich history of catalog artists features Levon Helm, Merle Haggard, Joan Baez, Mindy Smith, Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Junior Wells, John Fahey, to name a few.

Winner of the Queen Elisabeth (2009) and Yehudi Menuhin Competitions (2008), Ray Chen is among the most compelling young violinists today.   “Ray has proven himself to be a very pure musician with great qualities such as a beautiful youthful tone, vitality and lightness.   He has all the skills of a truly musical interpreter,” said the great Maxim Vengerov.
Ray has released two critically acclaimed albums on Sony: a recital program “Virtuoso” of works by Bach, Tartini, Franck, and Wieniawski, and the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky concertos with Swedish Radio Orchestra and Daniel Harding.   Following the success of these recordings, Ray was profiled by The Strad and Gramophone magazines as “the one to watch”.   “Virtuoso” was distinguished with the prestigious ECHO Klassik award.   He is currently working on his third, all-Mozart album with Christoph Eschenbach and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, slated for release later this year.
Ray continues to win the admiration of fans and fellow musicians worldwide.   In 2012, he became the youngest soloist ever to perform in the televised Nobel Prize Concert for the Nobel Laureates and the Swedish Royal Family.   His Carnegie Hall debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Sakari Oramo, as well as his sold-out Musikverein concert with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly were met with standing ovations.   Since the 2012- 13 season, Ray has been invited to join Konzerthaus Dortmund's series “Junge Wilde,” which presents young and groundbreaking artists in Germany.   Later this season, Ray will make his San Francisco recital debut at the SF Jazz Center. He also looks forward to his upcoming recital tour of Australia and his debuts with the Orchestre National de France and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Followed by over 500,000 people on SoundCloud, Ray Chen looks to expand the classical music audience by increasing its appeal to the young generation via all available social media platforms.   He is the first ever classical musician to be invited to write a regular blog about his life as a touring soloist for the largest Italian publishing house, RCS Rizzoli (Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport, Max).   In his unstinting efforts to break down barriers between classical music, fashion and pop culture, he is supported by Giorgio Armani and was recently featured in Vogue magazine.
Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Ray was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15, where he studied with Aaron Rosand and was supported by Young Concert Artists.   He plays the 1702 "Lord Newlands" Stradivarius violin on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Ffion Rolph is following