RIDGEFIELD - There are arguably two kinds of blues players: the ones like BB King and Buddy Guy, who delivered virtually the same loyal note-by-note renditions of blues standards every show for virtually their entire careers.The Newtown Bee that despite having plenty of go-to blues favorites, whether classics or his own inspirations, he stretches to find a new riff, a fresh flavor or another way to approach the song to give his audience "something different every night."The Bee from sunny Southern California as he and his three-piece backing ensemble of Les Falconer (drums), Dover Weinberg (keys), and Richard Cousins (bass) readied for mid-winter tour that puts him on stage at The Ridgefield Playhouse Wednesday, February 17.Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll) in which Cray performs "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" with Berry.Break Every Rule, and on the DVD of Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival.The Bee, Cray reflected briefly on his only foray into acting as one of Otis Day's Knights in the classic National Lampoon comedy Animal House, and putting together his latest project, 4 Nights of 40 Years Live, featuring clips of concerts from the '80s and four recent gigs showcasing the evolution of the Cray Band.Newtown Bee: Sadly, we've been losing a lot of great musicians lately, but it must have been hard to say goodbye to one of your mentors, BB King?Robert Cray: We've had a lot of opportunities to work with BB. And as you probably know, he makes time for anybody who has ever met him, so whenever I had the time, it was great to just spend it with him - just being around him, sharing his humor and humility. You have to think about all he's been through to get where he was in his career when we lost him. He was a wonderful person.Bee: Do you tend to learn more as a player from watching those great artists you've had the pleasure of performing with?Cray: Hanging out says a whole lot. Getting to be friends with the person who is playing the music that they do - it's cool to see how their personality comes out through their playing. It's not so much all the people I admire who I've sat down and traded licks with - it's about being on stage weaving your grooves together for the benefit of the tune. That's what it's all about - seeing their personalities come out during our times hanging out as well as the music.Bee: Could you identify one artist that has had the greatest influence on your playing?Cray: Albert CollinsBee: Is it true that he played for your high school graduation party?Cray: He did play at that party - it was outside Tacoma, Washington in 1971. Our class had two choices of bands to come and play. Albert, who I first saw in 1969 and who had since moved out to the West Coast, and the band Crow, that had a big hit at the time with that song "Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me)." There were a lot of festival concerts going on those days, and I guess a lot of my classmates had seen him as well. So the entire class voted for Albert.Bee: So that was still in your early days of playing. Is that where you came face-to-face with your idol?Cray: I was already playing guitar when I first saw Albert in 1969. But it wasn't until '71 that he played our high school graduation  party. So I walked up to him and told him how much I appreciated the show. I mean, we were 16 and 17 year old kids. So he says to me, 'Young man, do you play guitar?' And I said 'I do.' And he says, 'Keep it up.' I mentioned that [conversation] to him the next time I saw him, when I was opening up for him in 1975. Just four years later, we were backing him up!Bee: You're one of those blues artists that does a lot of your best work on a Fender Stratocaster, to the extent that Fender has issued two Robert Cray models.Cray: I've been working with Fender since about 1991. We've had a couple of models - one from the custom shop and one made in Mexico that's a little less  expensive.Bee: It's a little known fact that you were part of Otis Day and the Knights in the National Lampoon film Animal House. Do you have any memories of getting that gig?Cray: It was totally crazy. At the time I was living in Eugene, and we were playing a set and a woman came up and asked me if I wanted to be in a film. And I said 'right, a film in Eugene, Oregon.' But a few months later I was playing down in northern California and got the call to come back to do the movie in Eugene. I got hired with a bunch of other players from Oregon. The only person who wasn't was the guy who played Otis - he was a professional actor. I was also in Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, and got to play with Chuck Berry. But that was my onlly other work in movies.Bee: Tell me a little bit about your latest project, 4 Nights of 40 Years Live.Cray: For this record we recorded four nights of shows and the rehearsals from those sessions. We had a lot of tunes from which to choose. We had the project in mind and brought in a horn section during rehearsals.Bee: After all the years and all the gigs playing a lot of the same classic blues songs, how do you keep it fresh for yourself as an artist, as well as for your audience?Cray: I'm one of those who likes it to be different every night. I want the solos to be inspiring so it's going to be a different solo every night, even if we're going to play the same song.Get tickets for Robert Cray's February 17 stop in Ridgefield by visiting ridgefieldplayhouse.org or calling 203-438-5795.Check out a video of Robert Cray's set at the Rawa Blues Festival in 2012The Robert Cray Band jams on "I Shiver" live at B.B. King Blues Club on January 30, 2015

And then there are players like Robert Cray, who tells

On a snowy morning in Connecticut, Cray put in a call to

Joe Louis Walker is providing opening support.

During the call, Cray's conversation covered a number of subjects, from the design of his own branded Fender Stratocaster blues guitar, and his work with blues greats like Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to meeting bluesman Collins - Cray's main influence as a fledgling guitar player.

Clapton's admiration for Cray led to a writing collaboration on the hit "Old Love," which featured Cray on guitar. That led to an invite from Richards, who asked him to be in the film he and Steve Jordan were producing about Chuck Berry (

He has also performed alongside Tina Turner on her TV special

Fans and folks who just love a hot blues show will certainly hear Cray's hits "Smoking Gun" and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" among others from his 20 studio releases, 15 of which have been on the Billboard charts.

During his chat with

As we were designing the custom shop model, we worked with a couple of Strats I had already been playing. These were early '60s and late 1950s era instruments. And we set out to sort of get the best combination of the two. We refined the radius of the neck and worked on a particular sound from the pickups. Those are the same pickups on both the custom and retail models.

The Mexican version is made from different woods. The pickups are wound differently on the models I use. But that trademark sound is as much from the person touching the guitar as it is from the guitar itself.

We also don't use a set list any more. So right before we go on, the guys ask me, what's the first tune? That's how we work it. So I tell them the first tune, go out on stage, and then we call the tunes as we go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dasOMhmEGuQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uekaym7C-n8

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