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R & B saxophone players - a quickstart guide

Pete Thomas

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This is a project I've been meaning to do for ages. It's not in any way meant to be an exhaustive study, but I do intend to include as many players as possible, with sound clips. A kind of "starter pack" for anyone interested in the genre.


The first dozen or so are up there now:


http://tamingthesaxophone.com/blues-saxophone.html


Please feel free to comment, criticise, make suggestions
 
Great idea - I'm going to enjoy listening to the clips.

Glad to see several of my personal favourites on the list.

Off course, it begs the question of what is R&B ? But that's probably fun to debate too.

Rhys
 
Off course, it begs the question of what is R&B ? But that's probably fun to debate too.

Yes, what is it?

I am of course using the old definition, but in this case it loosely covers blues, rock & roll, jump jive, funk, soul, rock, some pop maybe and probably some early ska.

I'm not going to include jazz players who have a bit of blues influence, but it might be somewhat arbitrary. i.e. I probably won't include Bird, but I might include Lou Donaldson, Hank Crawford, Stanley Turrentine.

Meanwhile I'll probably concentrate on the rockier players, Boots Randolph and Sam Butera next.
 
"The major solo instrument in Rhythm & Blues is the saxophone.
Its sound is the voice of R&B and the short, heavily structured sax-solos of R&B-songs that crossed over into Rock and Roll, and the sax riffs that built these songs are forever engraved in the hearts and souls of a generation. The encounter with wild, extroverted and totally uninhibited sax players in the early '50s predates but had a "Presleylike-effect" on white youngsters.

The series features the saxmaniacs (Big JayMcNeely, Red Prysock), the sax-playing vocalists (Bullmoose and Cleanhead) as well as the sax-balladeers (Tab Smith and Lynn Hope). "
(from Mr R&B catalög)

And don't forget Freddie "Taxi" Mitchell!

Thomas
 
Just added some more, great fun rediscovering Lynn Hope. I'm not even half way through yet.
 
"The major solo instrument in Rhythm & Blues is the saxophone.
Its sound is the voice of R&B and the short, heavily structured sax-solos of R&B-songs that crossed over into Rock and Roll, and the sax riffs that built these songs are forever engraved in the hearts and souls of a generation. The encounter with wild, extroverted and totally uninhibited sax players in the early '50s predates but had a "Presleylike-effect" on white youngsters.

The series features the saxmaniacs (Big JayMcNeely, Red Prysock), the sax-playing vocalists (Bullmoose and Cleanhead) as well as the sax-balladeers (Tab Smith and Lynn Hope). "
(from Mr R&B catalög)

And don't forget Freddie "Taxi" Mitchell!

Thomas

Brilliant Pete looking forward to the rest. Thomas + 1 for Freddie " Taxi " Mitchell.
Rob.
 
This is awesome stuff. Really enjoying reading an listening to the sound clips!
 
What a great resource! Thanks Pete. Tied in to your pages on R&B saxophone it's the bar-walker's business!
 
May i suggest- Sam Butera, Big Jay McNeely and, the oft overlooked but absolutely storming, Clifford Scott....
 
May i suggest- Sam Butera, Big Jay McNeely and, the oft overlooked but absolutely storming, Clifford Scott....

Yes you may. Butera is already there, Big J is on the list and I'll add Clifford Scott, thanks
 
.... and Gene Barge, Bobby Forte, Pretson Love, Fats Noel, Jesse Powell, Wild Bill Moore, Al Sears, Lorennzo Holden, Floyd Turnham.... . Blues men ; Eddie Shaw, A.C Reed, J.T. Brown
 
Great Pete,
May i add Jackie Kelso who often swopped recording dates with Plas, and Lou Donaldson.
Cheers Rob.
 
.... and Gene Barge, Bobby Forte, Pretson Love, Fats Noel, Jesse Powell, Wild Bill Moore, Al Sears, Lorennzo Holden, Floyd Turnham.... . Blues men ; Eddie Shaw, A.C Reed, J.T. Brown


Many thanks, will do my best.

Al Sears is added.
 
Hi Pete,
I dont know if this guy counts, Red Price the British Tenor man with Lord Rockinghams Eleven. Remember Hootsman! He was the man who first got me interested in the sax.
Cheers Rob.
 
Hi Pete,
I dont know if this guy counts, Red Price the British Tenor man with Lord Rockinghams Eleven. Remember Hootsman! He was the man who first got me interested in the sax.
Cheers Rob.


Red is on my to do list, he was actually my teacher for a while.

The problem is finding a good sound clip, do you know of anything? Hoots Mon doesn't have a solo, and I really need a good solo to show off Red's prowess.

Red also played the frog in Pinky and Perky
 
Red is on my to do list, he was actually my teacher for a while.

The problem is finding a good sound clip, do you know of anything? Hoots Mon doesn't have a solo, and I really need a good solo to show off Red's prowess.

Red also played the frog in Pinky and Perky

Hi Pete,
Just been on Spotify and could only find three. One called weekend, another called Dangerman, and one with Jack Parnell, when the saints go marching in. Dangerman's the old TV theme i think, with a nice solo in the middle. I'd go with that one
but i'll leave it up to you.
Cheers Rob.
 
Hi Pete,
Just been on Spotify and could only find three. One called weekend, another called Dangerman, and one with Jack Parnell, when the saints go marching in. Dangerman's the old TV theme i think, with a nice solo in the middle. I'd go with that one
but i'll leave it up to you.
Cheers Rob.

Many thanks, I've now bought the album on iTunes: 100 rocking instrumentals
 
Just spent the whole evening on the computer Mr. Thomas- and its your fault.
 

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