Forum: Rock 'n Roll Saxophone

Seeing the success of the other similar thread, I thought maybe we should do something similar in this area. I have posted a few things over there, but they are far more jazz oriented, so I feel out of place. As for me, I have been playing covers with my band, Excellent Adventure, as well as...

It was back in college (it was a small, liberal arts college in a rural area in the Midwest) in the late 80s. Lonnie Brooks and his band were booked to play in our student center cafeteria on a Saturday Night. I asked this attractive young lady to come to the dance with me. We danced to...

I'm compiling a CD (for personal use only) of 50's-60's classic rock instrumentals that feature sax. I want to have top hits or records that charted fairly well, plus some others that are considered very influential even if they never charted high. They don't have to be only sax, but they should...

I saw a really good R&B sax player on the street last Friday - much better than I. The only problem was that he played to backup tracks and used three times his weight in equipment. The equipment just sort of swallowed him up and it wasn't clear where he started and the backup began. There is...

I've been listening to King Curtis,Sam Butera,Earl Bostic,Clarence Clemmons etc.,the great R&R/R&B guys a lot lately.So,Í've tried to get that sound myself too (on tenor) but I'm not really satisfied with the results.I'm not trying to sound exactly like Curtis etc.,just to get the basics of the...

Anybody know this guy? I bet he makes $500 a night. He's got one video with a robot Santa dancing in the background and I think the Santa belongs to him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxo0lCT6LPg

My first post I'm Joe - 47, and in Texas. I was a sax player in high school - played in College at NTSU - realized I wasn't gonna make the 1 O'Clock so moved over to playing bass in Rock bands off and on over the years. Some friends and I are now starting up a Bruce Springsteen tribute act,...

Ok Here we go. Anyone got a reasonably easy sixteen bar tenor solo in D, they can PM me. As i am fedup with the finger wiggling rubbish that I am turning out. Its help that I need, also who do I check out youtube. I know a few of you hate it, but if its on the list we have to play it.racer

Looking for a transcription of the horn break for this tune. Can anyone help me out?

The Jazz-rock movement that emerged in the U.S. and England, featured great bands like "Blood Sweat and Tears", and the lesser known, but no less stellar, English groups like "IF". When the interview with Sonny Del-Rio was published on SOTW, Al Kooper took the time to write: ..."don't forget...

Does anyone know who played saxophone on Gerry Rafferty's tune Baker Street? If you don't know this tune by name you will definately recognise the sax part. Chris

It must be the 50th anniversary of Chubby Checker's hit, and it's a good one to try on your horn.

Does anyone know anything about Percy France? I used to think he, and not Clifford Scott, played tenor on Honky Tonk, and recall seeing him in a club near Columbia U in NY in the '80s. He played a fantastic set, using a combo of jazz and R&B, showing a lot of technique. But now I can't...

There is a long detailed reason for this - but the cliff notes are that I need some ALTO examples from 1980's Rock and roll - and I am so whipped from this week that I need some help to think this morning. (PLEASE make sure they are alto and not tenor) Thanks, Charlie

Galactic has posted some live shows from Tipitina's that took place during this year's New Orleans' Jazz and Heritage Festival. http://www.youtube.com/user/GalacticYakamay#p/u/1/vc1is9RoNgA http://www.nojazzfest.com/ http://www.neworleans.com/festivals/jazzfest.html

I've been noticing that my tonal concept is nothing like an alto player like Adderley or Bird. I've got more of a Pete Thomas or Clarence Clemons type of sound in mind while playing. I tend to subtone, growl, bend and generally stay in the high-middle to low end of my horn. I guess this is wierd...

I'm very new to vintage horns...I just got a 1959 CONN 10M tenor that just ROARS...I love the thing to death...Never been happier with a horn...and I played Selmer and Yamaha horns for 20 years before this...It took about 1 week to get used to the new mechanism but everything plays really well and...

Check out this dude sweet talking the lady... its really funny: http://tamingthesaxophone.com/solos-mystery.html

So yesterday I was auditioning for a disco band alongside another alto saxophonist and was put on the spot to take a solo. I wasn't expecting this, especially since being put on the spot meant that in the middle of the song the drummer pointed at me with a stick and pretty much yelled "you go!". ...

Most bari players that I hear are bebop or jazz players. Does anyone know of any bari players who play funk and rocknroll?

Just some random curiosity. Who played Bari Sax on Lou Reed's Take a Walk on the Wild Side?

Does anyone play anything out that is rhythm changes in your blues/rock group? I asked the guys in the blues band to play some rhythm changes to open/close a set, and they looked at me like I was speaking greek. It seems like a lot of rhythm changes tunes were standard in the RnR/Blues idiom...

Pretty straightforward question. I play in a funk/rock/reggae band, and i can solo ok in it, but I want to get better at it. I know lots of stuff to practice jazz-wize, but it's not always too applicable in more popular music. Any good ideas?

The sax solo there... the altissimo notes, who is it... is it Lenny? Thanxs, JI

Hi guy, Last saturday I bought a nanoverb from alesis, I'm wondering if you can give me starting tips to setting up the Fx configuration, I wanna get a clean sound with a nice tail (no too long) and a little bit of echo but I dont know how to get it. Can, those of you that uses this processor,...

I know there's a thread running about what is the best Jazz album of all time, but what about the best individual Jazz/Blues/R&B track for Sax of all time? For me, they would have to include (in no particular order): Pink Floyd - "Money" from Dark Side of the Moon - it's what inspired my love...

I am trying to locate a photo of Ray and any bio info that anyone might have in an old magazine or LP cover. JSAXL@aol.com Thanks

Are mpc's that are more "spread" in tonal qualities easier to growl on than "more focused" mpc's?

Anyone else here a fan of Lee Allen?:treble:

This is a great old Rock and Roll piece, but I have never seen a version with sax. I wonder if any of you guys are playing this on gigs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-rcQuJQnxg or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0GJCjkR5_Y

Recently, I have really been digging King Curtis and like many others have wondered How do I get that kind of sound? Well, after reading SOTW and playing my horn I have found that by blowing much more forcefully and opening up my throat (not literally!) I get more grit and edge in my sound! Sorry...

I listen to a local radio show, entitled the R&B Jukebox (www.kuvo.org from 7pm to 9pm mountain standard time, saturdays, you can listen to it live, they also play great jazz) anyway I noticed that in the early part of rock was dominated by the tenor sax, but as the years moved on the electric...

I guess the thread's title is pretty self-explanatory. Cheers

Try this; http://www.saxontheweb.net/Price/Blues1.html It'll get you into hearing _MORE_than just the scale. Enjoy- Tim Price

I recently discovered some old blues CDs that highlight none other than the great King Curtis. In the order of my favorite: 1. "Slim's Shout" --Sunnyland Slim King Curtis really rocks hard on this one with some great solos. 2. "Honeydripper" --Roosevelt Sykes King Curtis still...

Hello SOTW. There is something I've been wondering for a good while. Someone asked me one day to play the solo from Supertramp - Logical song. I've been trying many many things but I just can't get the same sound as in the solo. I've got good sax technique, and I know that the setup you have make a...

Can someone give me a list of ROCK-like Real Book tunes for me to cut my teeth on. I really want to learn this vocabulary. I know COLD DUCK TIME is in the Real Book... any others that are popular with the Rock set? Thanks!

I've gotten a number of requests for my really sloppy transcriptions of some Clarence Clemons solos. I haven't been around as much lately as life is taking me in other directions, but I put a page up on my website with links to the files, and a link to the page in my signature file. they aren't...

I've got some great things to share, via R&B saxophone playing, and the elements of rock stuff. Roots, techniques and more. I use my book " Hot Rock Sax" as a text. I'm offering this instruction via Skype ( and of course in NYC and Pa) for serious study, improvement and positive forwatd...

Hey everyone! I'm trying to find music to listen to (R&B, Rock, Blues) from performers who have great horn sections in their bands. I can think of a few- Prince had a geat one in his NPG band back in the 90's, and Jimmy Buffet has a great horn section as well, and I like 'Roomful of Blues' a...

I am trying to go through and make sure I know tunes that people expect me, as a saxophonist, to instantly know or play. Here is my current list of songs I could think of (or that I've experienced people asking for). Please, add to the list if you can think of any. I put this in 'rock and roll'...

who knows of any bands that i could pick up who have a good sax player (any saxophone)? I've been looking, and there don't seem to be many. I'm getting a ska band together and am not sure whether i want to put a bari in it or a tenor. Thanks guys/gals.

I was doing a search in the Tube and ran across an old song By Styx that had an excellent Sax Solo by Steve Eisen..The solo starts at 2:25 into the song An excellent example of Control in the upper register http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s7tdLyIheM

Lately I've really been loving the R&R sounds of King Curtis, Clarence Clemons and all the other greats. I know that they all used tenors and that the tenor is the standard horn in this style of music, however my question is: is it possible to get anywhere near this sound on alto? And has anyone...

I just found this song and it has a really cool sax solo in it. I just had a few questions: 1. What MPC is that guy using? I have never seen anything like it...maybe a Runyon? 2. How does he get that raspy, sort of gritty sound? It doesnt sound like growling....unless I just cant tell... Also,...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhevBvNfLwI What song is it in the beginning?

Anyone tried a Jody Jazz HR as a rock & roll mouthpiece on tenor? I've been trying one out recently and I reckon that, for a no baffle, bigg-ish chamber ebonite piece it's got some serious amount of kick to it & would rock pretty well. Any of you folks tried one in this context?

OK, so I guess there's a big hole in my education, but I was talking with some blues players this past weekend and they suggested that I learn some I-VI-IV-V blues along with the I-IV-V 12-bar changes that I'm familiar with. What are these changes and can you point me towards any "standard"...