Rhythm and Blues Sax

Some of The Best Rhythm and Blues Sax

Greg Piccolo - Heavy Juice

One of my favorite rhythm and blues saxophonists. Just great tone and such soulful playing. This CD swings pretty hard with some great R&B sax playing... Greg can whisper down low and scream up high too.

Here's an audio clip Baby I'm Gone

The other players are some of the Roomful of Blues with the addition of Duke Robillard and the Roomful horn section which Greg used to be a member of. This vintage lineup is Doug James on bari, Rich Lataille on alto, Bob Enos on trumpet and Carl Querfurth on trombone. These guys were a great horn section and were also featured (along with Greg and me) on Colin James and the Little Big Band. Also on my first cd Crazy 'Bout a Saxophone.

Greg turned me onto the solo tenor player in Buddy Johnson's big band Purvis Henson, another tasty player. He was a big influence on Piccolo as were R&B players Red Prysock and Sil Austin. "Pic" is one of those guys that has his own distinct tone that can be picked out from the rest.

JF

A Rhythm and Blues sax monster!

 
Gordon Beadle - You Knock Me Out

Gordon's got the best Rhythm and Blues sax sound, well, on this planet anyway...
With tone from the King Curtis school of rock & roll and just the right amount of honkin' and screamin' to remind you of the original Rhythm and Blues sax stars from even before Curtis.

Sax Gordon as he likes to be called. First time we met was somewhere in the southwestern United States in 1994. I was there with Colin James, who I had been working with for many years and Gord had just flown in with the rest of the Roomful of Blues horn section; Doug James on bari, Rich Lataille on alto, Bob Enos on trumpet, Carl Querfurth on trombone, along with drummer John Rossi. This was the start of another tour for Colin and the Little Big Band.

On previous tours the fifth horn player had been Greg Piccollo but Greg had just moved on from Roomful and Gord was there to take his place. I remember there was a general feeling of disapointment, we didn't know Gord and we got spoiled having Greg on the other tours... hearing him every night with his great tone, he could make the women scream just getting down and whispering on those low notes.

When I first stood beside Gord on stage and he took his first solo I just about ____ my pants!
This guys playing makes your hair stand way up. Energy & excitement, range, tone, licks, tricks... he's got it all.

This CD which I highly recommend is very appropriatly called "You Knock Me Out" cause he does. Rockin' R&B, soulful blistering tenor sax... love it. Here's an audio clip from that song You Knock Me Out

He has written most of the songs here as well. One of my faves "That Little Town Rocks" reminds me of those great party, story telling Rhythm and Blues sax songs that were so popular in the 40's and early 50's... alternating funny verses with sax choruses.

Since I first heard Sax Gordon way back in '94 I haven't seen or heard anyone that's better.

JF