Most people don’t know that the song Spooky, made famous by the Classics IV, was actually originally recorded as an instrumental by saxophonist Mike Shapiro in the mid 60s. It was later rerecorded by the Classics IV in 1967 after guitarist James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie added the lyrics.

Apparently, Mike Shapiro had the same publishing company as Cobb and Buie, who heard the tune, liked it, and put lyrics to it.

The classic element of this story is that Shapiro ended up playing the great sax solo on the Classics IV version. I’ve always loved the tone and style of that solo, kind of jazzy and slightly edgy.

Here’s a version of the original recording of Spooky featuring Mike Shapiro on the tenor saxophone:

I want to introduce you to my fellow saxman and pal, DJ Wilkinson.

I’ve known DJ for some years; he and I are on the same circuit, selling our CDs at street fairs, art shows, etc.

DJ is a fun guy to know and be around, and his music really reflects his spirit.  His CDs cover a variety of styles, everything from rock ‘n roll to country to blues to gospel and then some.  Some of my favorite DJ music is from his CD, Night Train, a collection of Motown and boogie woogie tunes that he recorded in Nashville.  Check out this version of the old Jack Johnson blues standard called “Bootleg”:

Bootleg

Not only is DJ a talented sax player, he’s also a talented composer as well. Here’s a DJ song from his CD, Blow’n The Blues, called “Cruzin N Bluzin”:

Cruzin N Bluzin

DJ has, like me, been playin’ sax since he was a kid and comes from a music family. He recalls:

“I can’t remember when I was not around music of some kind. My mother played piano. She couldn’t read a note but man she could bang out some hot boogie woogie. Both of my older sisters played the piano also. Before I got my first sax, I had a flute, clarinet, trumpet and a cool fender guitar. None compared to my first sax. It was love at first honk.”

As I mentioned, DJ covers a lot of different styles. Here’s a listing of his current CD library:

• A Stroll Down Lover’s Lane – Easy listening 50s music offering a pleasing background ambiance that is perfect background music for entertaining or just kicking back and relaxing.
• Blow’n The Blues (With Blues You Can Use) – Blues music from the 30s to the 60s. Soulful and energetic, this blues just feels good.
• Cruzin’ With The Oldies – High energy, sax-powered rock and roll from the 50s and 60s. Always a best seller, from Blue Berry Hill to Proud Mary, this CD rocks!
• Classic Country Favorites – If you love the music of Patsy Cline, Eddie Arnold and Earnest Tubb (to name but a few), you are sure to enjoy this CD. It’ll take you back to when country was country.
• Night Train – Do you like Motown, Rhythm and Blues, or Boogie Woogie? If you do, then this is your CD! It’s HOT! Recorded live in Nashville with a little Memphis kick.
• Sunday Sax – If you’re looking for a little spiritual pick me up, then this CD may just do the trick. Sit back, relax, and get your church on while DJ plays some favorite gospel hymns.

So  if you like upbeat and spirited blues, country, gospel and rock n’ roll sax, you’re going to love DJ Wilkinson’s music.  Go take a listen, and enjoy!

Say what you want to about Bill Clinton (the real first black president), but you have to admire his balls!

Before you read this entry, start this song:

Just Tell Me The Truth

I know this guy, a friend of mine, a sax player, lives in the Sacramento area.  His name is Grant Reeves.

Grant is an amazing guy. In a number of ways, actually, but the way I’m thinking about at the moment is his arranging and recording ability.

Check this out: he and I were involved in the recent release of the Perry Mills Project CD. He was involved way more than I was – he wrote, arranged, and recorded all the sax section and solo parts on that CD (except for the one solo I played), and they are truly remarkable.  The whole Perry Mills Project thing was and is remarkable, but Grant’s arrangements and performances stand out.

The song you’re listening to is a good example: ‘Just Tell Me The Truth’.

This is a tasty little funk tune with a lot of very hip twists and turns.  But the horn lines rock, don’t they?  And now about those great soli lines with the whole band?  Amazing.

All the background horn parts are Grant’s, and he played all the horn lines. The horn section work throughout the whole song is so tight, beautiful, and hip – a joy to listen to.   He write bari parts that kill!  Sounds great, don’t it?

We played all these songs in concert last summer, up in Sacramento; Grant and I played the horn parts.  Let me tell you, reading those charts was like deciphering calculus – very complex!  But beautiful!

And to make the experience even more wonderful, the band featured the amazing bassist Michael Manring.  What a treat!  This guy is beyond description!

Someday I’m going to perform a version of this tune in concert.  IT…WILL…ROCK!

Eddie Harris (1933-1996) was an amazing saxophonist and musician, an inventor and innovator, an educator, a savvy and successful businessman, a masterful performer, a fierce individualist, and a true smooth jazz saxophone pioneer.

Eddie Harris is not a super-famous sax man.  He’s not someone that gets mentioned a lot when you ask sax players who they listen to or are influenced by.

But when you consider his career and his achievements, and the pervasive influence of his style and technological innovations, it becomes clear that Eddie Harris was a major force in the evolution of jazz/funk/blues fusion music, i.e., the forerunner of smooth jazz.

Here’s a quote from an article about Eddie Harris at the Ubiquity Records website:

In the course of recording more than 70 albums and CD’s, and the author of seven (7) music books, Eddie has displayed himself as a jazz artist who has played blues, rock, jazz fusion, straight-ahead, soul and funk grooves.  Eddie’s pioneering work in musical electronics and the effective conjunction of different elements of blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and funk has had widespread influence of what is generally considered today’s music. Eddie’s music has been sampled by over 30 artists including: Macy Gray, Jamiroquai, DJ Jazz Jeff, Heavy D and the Fresh Prince.

Note the reference to the ‘effective conjunction of different elements of blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and funk’.  That’s smooth jazz, man!

And from the Eddie Harris website:

Eddie’s pioneering work in musical electronics and the effective conjunction of different elements of blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and funk has had widespread influence of what is generally considered today’s music. Eddie’s music has been sampled by over 30 artists including: Macy Gray, Jamiroquai, DJ Jazz Jeff, Heavy D and the Fresh Prince.

‘…widespread influence of what is generally considered today’s music.’ Again, that’s referring to smooth jazz.

To be precise, Eddie Harris recorded 76 albums.  Three of his albums, including his very first release, Exodus To Jazz, were certified gold (over one million copies sold).  I guarantee this album was being heard in every household in the country back in the mid-60′s.  His composition, Freedom Jazz Dance, was recorded by Miles Davis, and subsequently became a jazz standard.  He wrote most of the music heard on The Bill Cosby Show.

One of the most interesting things about Eddie Harris’ career was his work as an inventor and innovator.  Among his many innovations (including the reed mouthpiece for the trumpet, coronet, trombone and flugelhorn) was the use of the Varitone, which was, in effect, an electric pickup for the saxophone.

His use of the Varitone can be heard prominently on many of his recordings, including one his most popular hits, Listen Here, from his album The Electrifying Eddie Harris.  You can hear the electricified quality, and especially the doubled lower octave, on this excerpt from Listen Here, recorded in 1967:

Listen Here

Finally, Eddie Harris was a fierce individualist.  He followed his heart wherever it led him.  He was often villified by critics, first for his commercial success (they thought he was selling out) and later for his forays into funk and electronics.

Eddie Harris, a true smooth jazz saxophone pioneer.