Kenny G doesnt play anymore?!
I believe Stan Getz was fairly wealthy, not sure though...
Sanborns gotta be close...

 

I'm not positive, but I think that Benny Golson makes a good chunk of change from the royalties on his compositions.

 

Oh no! Kenny G stopped playing?

 

I believe Michael Brecker was a millionaire before he died (way way way too soon). By the end of his life I believe he was the most recorded saxophonist in history-- over 700 sessions, according to Wikipedia.

Brecker is probably heard far more often by more people around the world than Kenny G. You don't have to be a jazz fan to have Brecker in your collection; all you need is some James Taylor, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Parliament, or any number of other great pop acts, and you'll get him in your ears.

 

I believe Michael Brecker was a millionaire before he died (way way way too soon). By the end of his life I believe he was the most recorded saxophonist in history-- over 700 sessions, according to Wikipedia.

I just updated wikipedia to say that he's been on 3.2 million recordings to ensure nobody will ever pass him.

 

I bet Bill Clinton is a millionaire.:shock:

 

Bill Clinton plays the sax!

 

Even all of the sax players that hate kenny g's guts have to admit he is one of a kind - no one else sounds or plays like him.

On the contrary. There seems to be a good many G-clones out there. Doesn't anybody go to those "All You Can Eat" Chinese buffets? They play G-clone tracks all the time.

 

I do not see many Kenny G clones out there. But I admit, while I can't stand his music, he found a market in the late 80s. He become the golden child for smooth jazz. I was in high school when Kenny first got a lot of radio airplay, and became all the rage. I hated his music then, too boring, and blah. I did appreciate then (and now) his sound. I am not saying I want to sound like him, but he is a tremendous classical player, and has the ballad down. I think he is aweful playing anything close to real jazz. But, he does have a nice tone, and good control.

It has always been my nightmare, to wake up from a dream hearing your tunes in Walmart or a dentists office. I understand if you write your music, you get royalties, so he is getting rich from that, but I certainly beleive Kenny is the elevator music King, and has gotten rich off of that. Good for him, since that is his thing. I would rather be an accountant, gigging by night, like I am now, than playing that style of music I hate. But he loves it, good for him.

I do beleive "smooth jazz" is dying. People who listen to that style of music, are generally older.

The most influential sax player is not the richest sax player. Sanborn has far more followers and copy cats than Kenny G. And when acts like Sting, the Boss, Clapton, Stevie Wonder, etc need a sax player, they don't go to Kenny G, but to Sanborn. Kenny does play with Aaron Neville, but he is pretty smooth jazzish too... Is Michael Bolton Kenny's brother?

PS- as a guy who is only partly Jewish, I have the right to say this, Kenny G, a guy 100% jewish, doing an Xmas album, makes me wonder if Kenny is more about the money/marketing, or the music.:?

 

John Coltrane, according to one biography, was pulling down $250,000 a year. Since that was in the '60s, I think that would qualify him.

 

Alan Greenspan, Fred McMurray, Ozzie Nelson, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey.

There may be a few millionaire sax players lurking here on SOTW. Definetly not me!

 

I can't criticize Kenny G. I think he deserves some credit and I wish I could do what he does but the truth be said: He really puts me to sleep (literally). I think Manu Dibango, an African saxophonist must be up there or at least made lots of money.

 

Our man Sonny Rollins must be a millionaire.

 

I'd imagine that Jeff Coffin is getting close

 

Which reminds me, Leroi Moore must have been one.

 

Wasn't Branford Marsalis earning a million a year when he was the musical director of the Tonight Show band ?

 

Its not that much money anymore, there are a fair amount who have achieved that much net worth. Its not like they have a mil in their spare change fund though.

 

Me. And tall, dark, handsome, GSOH, own home hair and teeth. Oh hang on, wrong forum.

 

As long as we are all guessing :roll: how about Benny Goodman and Harry James. Those guys must've had a lot of coin.

 

I wonder when did money earned become a measure of how good an artist actually is. This is really sad! SAD.

 

As I said above, I am partly Jewish. Thus, I have the right to say this. Kenny G, a Jew, came out with a Christmass CD.

Music is a Business. Do you think Britney Spears knows what three notes make up a C Major chord? Of course not. She can't write her own music either. If she did, she would not be where she is at. The guys who write her music, in the end, are richer than she is. They get the royalties.

Again, music is a business, it is not about talent. It never has been, and it never will be. It is about which artist will make the label the most money, and record labels have guys like Milli Vanilli. I would not be surprized if say 30% of famous kid artists are not lip synced even in the studio. Record Labels are about making money, not about promoting artists for the artists good. Money is the business, it is why people go to work. Money is the standard, and today, Grammy Award Winners win, due to their sales, not their talent. If you do not know these things, you haven't Gigged much. Local venues in Chicago will not take you back, even if your band was totally tight, if it isn't bringing people in. Talent is a diferent issue. :x

 

We aren't saying that just because they have a lot of money that they are good. Quite the opposite by the statements about Kenny G. It was just a question because there are very few current sax players that make that kind of money just playing sax, and there was curiosity about who else might be making that many.

 

The mention of Leroi Moore makes me think that Clarence Clemons is probably doing well financially. Heck, I'll bet that Walt Parazaider (Chicago's sax player) saved up a decent amount of cash during Chicago's long run, and he was nowhere near as famous as Clarence. There are probably many more.

If you think in terms of net worth, which would include one's home, there are many homes that are worth more than $500,000 and probably many older musicians who have a lot of equity in some pretty expensive homes. Throw in a bit of retirement savings, and you might be there.

 

The mention of Leroi Moore makes me think that Clarence Clemons is probably doing well financially.

You beat me to it. But while we're mentioning Leroi and Clarence, I would think that Dick Parry made more than a few quid with Floyd. I would think that Candy Dulfer and Lenny Pickett are making a pretty penny as well.

but for serious, Jeff Coffin made over a million dollars in 2007 alone with just The Flecktones.

I'm not convinced that the Flecktones pull in that kind of money. Maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am since those guys deserve more money than most of the modern day musical acts combined. I think that Bela and crew are in it for the music first. All monetary gain is just a bonus.

Think about all the groups he plays in, and big money groups like Dave Matthews band that we all know HAS TO be a big payer! So add those groups on top of the Fleck tones.
Mr. Coffin is one hell of a saxophonist and deserves every cent of his paycheck!

I think that DMB is certainly treating Mr. Coffin well. Don't forget that Jeff has also toured with Van Morrison, which is another pretty big gig. Jeff does deserve every penny he makes. IMO, he is one of the most distinctive voices that has ever graced the saxophone world. If one good thing has come out of the tragic passing of Leroi, it is that a larger audience has been exposed to Jeff Coffin.

 

Ya almost forgot about Clarence. Which is surprising considering I listen to the Boss daily.

 

Though this may change rapidly in the near future given the current economy, in recent years $1 million is not what it once was, and being a millionaire is not as big of a deal as it once was either. In fact, I remember reading not too long ago that a medium-sized city such as Omaha, Nebraska, can count literally hundreds of millionaires among its residents (of course that place is kind of anomaly since there are a fair number of resident investors who got in on the ground floor with Berkshire Hathaway (founded by Omaha's famous billionaire).

I would say that many of the top smooth jazz saxophonists are millionaires, assuming they have managed their money (which is another big "IF" when it comes to musicians--remember MC Hammer? ). And I think the probability that an artist would be a millionaire would increase exponentially if they have had a string of albums with a major label. You see, the first one usually doesn't pay too well, but when you get a hit, you (and your agent) have more leverage at the bargaining table. That's how it works in all areas of show business. How much do you think Tom Cruise made for his first movie, as opposed to his current rate now (which I think is usually a percentage of the film's total profits PLUS a lump sum rather than a lump sum like $30 million--though he gets that right off the top)? Or I wonder how much Kenny G made for his first album as opposed to albums no. 2, 3 or 4?

I don't know for a fact, but some guys who have had a long string of hits and top selling recordings--and from which I am guessing are millionaires--would be Dave Koz, Steve Cole, Boney James, Richard Elliot, Kirk Whalum, Eric Marienthal, Euge Groove, Kim Waters, and no doubt a few others I am forgetting.

 

Doc Kupka is probably up there too.

 

Getz probably was. How much he put into himself is anyone's guess. I know Mulligan was a millionaire when he died. I know Rollins is.

The guys who are selling tons of recordings, having their tunes recorded, and are playing everywhere are millionaires. Brecker, Carter, Redman, Lovano, Liebman, all have to be earning top dollar. Garzone will be now that it is all but confirmed that he was Brecker's teacher.

 

Getz probably was. How much he put into himself is anyone's guess. I know Mulligan was a millionaire when he died. I know Rollins is.

The guys who are selling tons of recordings, having their tunes recorded, and are playing everywhere are millionaires. Brecker, Carter, Redman, Lovano, Liebman, all have to be earning top dollar. Garzone will be now that it is all but confirmed that he was Brecker's teacher.

Don't be ridiculous! How many albums do you think Josh Redman or Joe Lovano sell? I bet they're lucky if they sell more than 20K copies of each album, and that would be huge for a jazz record.

 

I'm thinking good chance that Boots Randolph, Gato Barbieri, Grover Washington Jr., Jr. Walker, Charles Neville, Pete Christlieb, Tom Scott and Maceo Parker have all made 7 figures at some point and time in their careers.

 

I'm sure Boots Randolph passed the million dollar mark long before Kenny G grew his first long locks.

 

I bet Grover did. Jimmy Sommers lives in Hollywood Hills, he must be a mega millionaire. Dave Koz is I bet. Boney James, Euge Groove, and Najee have all sold a Million+ records as well.

 

Dave Koz, you mean the guy who now is a radio DJ? They guy when he plays tenor you can tell he is an alto player? Nothing against Alto guys, I am an alto player (I play tenor and soprano too) but I do my best to not sound like an alto player attempting to play a tenor...