Rayford was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to a minister father, Reverend Thomas J. Griffin, and his mother, Geneva Brown, who was a Howard-University music major, so his music appreciation started early.
It was the drum solos of Art Blakey and Max Roach on albums by his late, lamented uncle, trumpeter Clifford Brown, that lured him to the drums. Rayford got his first drum (a field snare) at the age of 10 and played in his grade school marching band and orchestra. He got his first full set of drums (all the way from Japan) at 13.
Rayford was raised on a steady diet of uncle Clifford’s classics, the symphonic soul of Isaac Hayes, the earth blues basics of Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles, and the revolutionary jazz-rock fusion of Billy Cobham and Lenny White (in the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, respectively).
In years later, Rayford embarked on the most high profile gig of his then career playing with Ponty for six years and five albums (1981-1987). “One year we played the Santa Monica Civic and everybody I listened to growing up was backstage: Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Lee Ritenour,” exclaims Rayford. Ray wound up playing with most of them. Subsequent gigs included accompanying Anita Baker, Cameo, George Howard, Dave Koz, Jeff Lorber, Boyz II Men and Anastasia and being a member of the Stanley Clarke Band, to name just a few.