The newspaper "Moskovsky Komsomolets" asked the question that was on everyone's mind: Has Ray Charles discovered the Russian soul?


The Russians hope so. In town for his first performance in Russia, the blind rhythm and blues singer-pianist has evoked extravagant affection from this city.


In a nation which actually banned saxophones in 1949, soul music came to symbolize artistic freedom, and Ray Charles symbolizes soul the world over. At his first concert Wednesday night at the Second International Moscow Jazz Festival, Charles delighted the audience with the songs that won him the nickname "genius of soul."


By all accounts, the feeling was mutual. The warm reception he got Wednesday night was worth as much as any music award in any country, said Charles, who has racked up 10 Grammys and was appointed chairman-for-life of the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.


"If the people in Russia say, 'Hey, Ray, we're gonna give you the key to the city,' well, that would be one of the ultimates in my life," said Charles, smiling beatifically at a press conference Thursday. "It would be a first."


"What I go by is enthusiasm," he said. "To tell the truth, I don't think a Russian audience differs any from an American one."


Following on the stiletto heels of the American singer Liza Minelli, Charles is venturing into a market which, through novelty or nostalgia, is increasingly popular among Western performers.


"Every artist wants to come to Moscow now," said Charlie Huizenga, a tour manager for Charles' European tour.


Moreover, Moscow performances are becoming more economically viable by the day, organizers said.


"We are in a position to pay no less -- and in some cases more -- than shows in the West," said Alexander Gafin, vice president of Alfabank, which backed Charles' appearance. His firm is looking into shows by opera stars Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavoratti, he added.


"The only thing they worry about is the level of organization in Russia. But it is a new situation now. We pay a lot." He did not provide a figure on the amount paid to Charles for his performances Wednesday and Thursday nights.


The flip side is that concert tickets priced out some of the city's most committed jazz fans. Although ticket prices ranged from 20,000 ($10) to 300,000 rubles, the cheaper tickets were quickly cleared out by scalpers, and during the days before the concert, the cheapest available seats cost 80,000 rubles -- an exorbitant price for most Muscovites.


After the jazz festival opened Tuesday, Sergei Ivanov sat quietly on the Rossiya's terrace -- he had fallen short of ticket money by 3,000 rubles. Despite a lifelong passion for jazz, Ivanov, 62, said he earns a monthly salary of 120,000 rubles as an engineer, so he would have to pick and choose among the shows.


"It's not easy for me to find the money -- we're talking about half a month's salary. But Ray Charles..." said Ivanov, who once compiled an encyclopedia of the 100 most important figures in jazz history. "I'll figure something out."


Charles, a 10-time Grammy winner and chairman-for-life of the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, has made a career of genre-hopping. His blend of gospel and blues broke new musical ground in the mid-'50s, ushering into the mainstream a new sound that would come to be called "soul."


"Lots of people have played soul as commercial music -- James Brown, George Clinton -- but Ray Charles was the first," said Alexei Kozlov, a jazz saxophonist and host of "All That Jazz" on Russian television. "He created a demand for soul music, which was a black tradition, among white people."


"Ray can play anything," rhapsodized Yakov Eisenberg, director of the Yakov Eisenberg Center for Jazz Studies in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, who traveled here for the show. "He is an international star. This is a great moment."