Are there any real good sax in the blues? Crikey what a question!! The whole genre of jazz not to mention blues, rock n roll, rhythm and blues right up to today is filled with amazing contributions from saxophonists. It's hard to know where to start. do you mean blues as in Howling Wolf, BB King, Muddy Waters etc ? Clean Head Vinson was a great blues player but really there are hundreds, you'll have to do some research. Check out any early Ray Charles, Fats Dominoe, Little Richard, Listen to Edgar Winter, King Curtis.... I'll be here all day, the list is endless.

 

three of my favorites: (1)Stanley Turrentine With The Three Sounds, "Blue Hour" ( engineered by Rudy Van Gelder who also did much of Trane's recordings), Blue Note 24586;(2)a young Lenny Pickett with Tower of Power, "Live and in Living Color", "Knock Yourself Out", Warner Brothers Records...not the blues but it has a long solo with circular breathing and altissimo that will make you turn your horn into a lamp....and (3)Roomful of Blues' most recent CD ( can't remember its name) but features their 2 sax players, Lataille and Early, doing a great cover of Illinois Jacquette's style in "Straight Jacquette".

 

... do you mean blues as in Howling Wolf, BB King, Muddy Waters etc ?

Yes, that sort of Blues, but it all seems to be guitar players playing the melody, which is OK 'cause they really are good, but I just haven't come across Saxophones leading in Blues as much as they do in Jazz. As I said, maybe I'm not looking in the right places.

Clean Head Vinson was a great blues player but really there are hundreds, you'll have to do some research. Check out any early Ray Charles, Fats Dominoe, Little Richard, Listen to Edgar Winter, King Curtis.... I'll be here all day, the list is endless.

Thanks for pointing out those names, I'll keep an eye open for them. Dr Feelgood did use a Sax player a couple of times - once when they played "See you Later Alligator" which was pretty rousing. Am I just greedy wanting to hear more Sax still?

Cheers,

Mac

 

Yes, that sort of Blues, but it all seems to be guitar players playing the melody, which is OK 'cause they really are good, but I just haven't come across Saxophones leading in Blues as much as they do in Jazz. As I said, maybe I'm not looking in the right places.

You gotta go back a ways. In the 40's (the jump blues era) and early '50s, the sax was king of blues & "rock & roll." The guitar players copied a lot sax players in those days, although of course the guitar has always been a key instrument in the blues.

Start here, for one (of many) examples:

 

Just thought, maybe there are fewer Saxes in Blues 'cause Saxes are more expensive than guitars? And many top Blues artists came from very humble backgrounds... so when they were learning music they had to go with what they could afford. Just a wild speculation...

Still, if Saxes keep on going up in price like they are, maybe the overlap of good Sax players with affordable good instruments will start to shrink. We'll still have good Sax players, but if speculators drive Sax prices up to the levels of, say, a Stradivarius, good Sax players won't be playing the best old Saxes. Certainly not if they have felt the pain of hardship as expressed in the Blues... am I way off the mark here? I hope so!

Cheers,

Mac

 

Totally impossible category. The nominees are endless. Having said that, a few personal favorites from the early days:

Illinois Jacquet on Lionel's Hampton's "Flying Home"

Red Prysock’s "Handclapping"

Herb Hardesty on Fats Domino’s "I’m Walking"

Sam The Man Taylor on Nappy Brown's "Don't Be Angry"

Lee Allen- "Walking With Mr. Lee" and Little Richard's "Slippin and Slidin'" (the entire album is great!)

Clifford Scott on Bill Doggett's "Honky Tonk" (Part 1 & 2)

King Curtis "Dynamite At Midnight" (Live at the Apollo; 1956)

Junior Walker "Gotta Hold on To This Feeling"

Sonny Rollins on Rolling Stones' "Waiting For a Friend"

 

That's a great list... thanks! Does anyone happen to know who played Sax on the Pink Floyd album, "Dark Side of the Moon" - particularly on "Money" when I think both a Tenor and Bari were used together really well. Of course, I could be wrong, but I'd still like to know who the player was!

Cheers,

Mac

 

Dick Parry played with Floyd, not sure who the other was, Probably John Laughter will know, after all he wrote the book.

tons of blues AC Reed, check out Sax Gordon, and all the others mentioned, check out Tommy Castro's band www.tcband.com his sax player Keith Crossan rips it up, and King Perkoff who posts here is a helluva player as well.

 

Thanks for the name... I had a look for some Dick Parry CDs but couldn't findd any. He has done a lot of good stuff though... and although not listed as the Sax player on "Money" I did find a couple of references saying he had been, so thanks a lot for putting me out of my misery, Bill!

Cheers,

Mac

 

That's a great list... thanks! Does anyone happen to know who played Sax on the Pink Floyd album, "Dark Side of the Moon" - particularly on "Money" when I think both a Tenor and Bari were used together really well. Of course, I could be wrong, but I'd still like to know who the player was!

Cheers,

Mac

Raphael Ravenscroft used to play with Floyd. It may have been him !

 

Mac some tracks you might like

Gumbo Variations from Frank Zappa's " Hot Rats" featuring Ian Underwood on tenor saxophone. The original cut was edited but the later CD's have the full solo.. Unbelievable playing on a classic album.

Tobacco Road from Edgar Winter's White Trash " Roadwork" . Edgars alto solo is a model for blues and soul saxophone and pure mastery.

So Hard To Share from John Mayall's " The Turning Point" This is a blues album featuring Johnny Almond on great tenor and alto. Highly recommended.

 

I'd say off the top of my head - King Curtis " Soul Sernade".

As a piece of advise to a younger guy I'd also say learn Clifford Scotts solo on " Honky Tonk" note for note. That is the best training in rock sax. You'll
build your ear and learn one of the most necessary solos ever.

Other great solo is- Jr Walker on " Shake and Finger pop " , anything by Eddie Shaw the unsung saxophonist. Eddie is someone who _needs_to be listened to closely. His projection of sound & ideas are a lesson.
Also anything by Illinois or Big Jay McNeely will set you straight.
These guys are not talked about enough or listened to by people.
The ~ THICK~ R n' B sound , that they are getting is something to marvel at.

While I'm at it- ya oughta buy;

Big Horn: The History of the Honkin' & Screamin' Saxophone [BOX SET]
Amazon sells it for 'round 25 dollars, heck 24 bucks these days won't even get ya a tank of gas.( I wish I was being funny ! :cussing: )
Players include Illinois , Arnett Cobb, Wild Bill Moore, Paul Williams, Hal Singer, & many more. Includes 68-page illustrated booklet with biographies of the players & full discography details. Four standard jewel cases housed in a slipbox. A killin' bargin- and a sonic text book for anyone interested in this idiom.

Also my book " Hot Rock Sax" offers many of these techniques ) pre-Brecker ) in a text hands on way. Its sold thru Amazon & Hal Leonard.
In case you need some info etc.
( pardon the commercial but its been on the market for a few years, Greg Piccolo uses the book and recommends it as well)

That should drain your account for a few days- check em' out.
Enjoy

 

Our research shows;
MONEY-PINK FLOYD-DICK PARRY-TENOR

Dick Parry was born December 22, 1942, in Kentford, England. He played the famous saxophone solo on "Us and Them" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Parry worked as a studio musician and toured with Pink Floyd during the seventies and then stopped playing for several years. Luckily he agreed to pick up his saxophone for the recording of The Division Bell, and he also joined Pink Floyd on the 1994 tour.

http://pinkfloydhyperbase.dk/who/p.htm

 

Dick Parry played on dark side of the moon and also on the wish you were here album. There seems to be a lack of absence of Dick Parry playing anywhere else. Could not find anything on line except references to the Pink Floyd albums. Maybe someone can enlighten me.I like his tone on those floyd tracks particularly "Shine on you crazy diamond" and would like to hear him on some other stuff. Mel Collins is another good rock sax player a lot of people don't know about. Did some crazy stuff with early King Crimson, later with Camel, and The Stray Cats.

 

I have to second the recomendation of "The Gumbo Variations", one of my favorite tracks. In fact, the entire album Hot Rats is full of amazing improvisation, I have developed a lot of my improv based of Frank Zappa himself, what a guitar player. Also check out some George Thorogood, Hank Carter is one honkin' player, listen to "I Drink Alone" and "Bad to the Bone". I have to second Mel Collins as well, pick up King Crimson's "Islands" for a couple a great sax parts, not to mention Robert Fripp's skill on guitar. A large portion of my improv style has come from guitar players.

 

So Hard To Share from John Mayall's " The Turning Point" This is a blues album featuring Johnny Almond on great tenor and alto. Highly recommended.

Almond's celestial solo on "California" soars on that album

Tim Price mentioned that song to me. That's what I was listening to back in Kutztown Univerity in the early 70's.

 

Gene Dinwiddie on tenor,
in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, 1967,
on the album, 'The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabchaw',
plays a killer solo about 3 minutes into the old Otis Rush song entitled,
'Double Trouble'.
Nothing too complicated, but very effective.

 

on the album, 'The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabchaw',

that's got to be the most bonkers album title I've ever heard!

 

Back to the blues theme- there's a great Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff album i've completely forgotten the name of, +1 for Turrentine and the Three Sounds. For rock/blues- surely Bobby Keyes on the Stones Exile on Mainsteet has got to be a pretty strong contender also- I've found a great collection of rocking blues sax player with various zydeco bands (queen Ida, buckwheat zydeco, CJ Chenier's band- the last in particular, has a stunning tenor man last time they were in the UK)

 

Red Prysock - Little Jamie, The Fox, Free For All (w Bradshaw)
King Curtis - Dynamite at Midnight
Rusty Bryant - Ridin' With Rusty; Back Streat
Sam "The Man" Taylor - Cloudburst, Rhythm Changes(w Millinder)
Al Sears - Marshall Plan, In the Good Old Summer Time, Right Now Right Now
Clifford Scott - Honky Tonk (Doggett)
Charley Rouse - I Wanna Blow Now (w Benny Green)
Hank Crawford - This Little Girl of Mine (solo w Ray Charles)
Willis Jackson -Howlin' at Midnight"

I can't not mention Johnny Griffin w. Count Basie in Montreaux (Lester Leaps in and Billie's Bounce - chorus after chorus after chorus of ripping solo work).

Or K Curtis, S Taylor and A Sears with Alan Freed's Band - 2 Good Guys, Tow Head, Campus Rumpus, Pretzel.

 

Check this out:

 

Thought this would be as good a thread as any to share some of my favorite sax songs with anyone that cares. Some slightly more obscure stuff, these are all out of print records as far as I know so this should be legally/morally sound...

The Pepper Notes - El Tren
On obscure Texas label Disco Grande. Sound like they were Mexican? relentless sax solos anyway. This is one of my favorite tunes ever.
DivShare File - El Tren.mp3

The Cee Gees - Buzz Saw Twist
Written by Glen Campbell no less!! Relentless sax heavy rock'n'roll! This one will MELT YOUR FACE!!
DivShare File - Buzz Saw Twist.mp3

Eugene Blacknell - Jump back
Think this guy is better known for his funk/soul output, so this must be early in his career. I love the stabs from the horns over that wild surf riff. I wsh I had this record. Missed out on the last one that cropped up on Ebay despite bidding quite a lot for it
DivShare File - Jump Back.mp3

Betty Everette - I've got a claim on you
Just wanted to upload this one to show the crazy Bari solo, which starts off on a wailing harmonic and quickly descends to the bottom of the scale. All in about 5 seconds. Amazing
DivShare File - I_ve Got a Claim On You.mp3

Ronnie Cook and the Gaylads - Goo Goo Muck,
fun to practice. Fun to sing along to. Great Bari solo

Hope you enjoy and that this is cool with the mods!!

Tom

 

Willis Jackson (Wine O Wine). Mike Sharpe aka Mike Shapiro (Spooky).

 

Best R&B came right to me: "What's going On?" by Marvin Gaye. From the opening sax wail to the voices and music fading out at the end, it so perfectly captures that whole era. I've heard it a million times, and each time it stills gets an emotional rise from me.

Best blues? Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Open Arms" gets my vote. From the first fiery guitar riff on, you know you've found the real deal.

Jazz? Wow, how tough is that? I still have a clear favorite. though: Begins with Bill Evans' haunting atonal introduction, then the uber-cool bass line, then the tight trumpet sax harmony response to the bass' call. Hear it yet? "So What?" by Miles et al on Kind of Blue. What a true masterpiece.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what individual song qualifies as being Jazz/Blues/R&B all in one. They are such massively different genres.

 

Now they are. But in the past (late '40s at least through the '50s), there was a lot more overlap among these genres. One of the best examples of a horn player who blended them early on was Jimmy Forest (Night Train). Another might be King Curtis. He was obviously mainly in the blues/R&B category, but he did play some straight-ahead jazz. I have a cd of him playing more in the jazz vein. Also, the Hammond B-3 players like Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, etc crossed into all 3 genres. Then there were guys like Stanley Turrentine. And the jump blues players like Red Prysock.

So I think there are quite a few that fit all three genres, at least in the past. You're right about the present era, though. Everything has become so highly 'specialized' and compartmentalized, that 'never the twain shall meet.' I think that's too bad and one of the problems in these times. Only a tiny sliver of music gets heard on commercial radio now.

I can't begin to pick any one favorite track, though.

 

Les McCann & Eddie Harris, "Compared To What" - very deep groove

 

hey, busseynova - thanks for those tunes. I love obscure 50's and 60's rock and R&B, especially instrumentals, and I've never heard those. I especially like "El Tren." It's a fast version of "Night Train" with great sax solos.