Posted on 11/06/2025 9:37:56 AM PST by real saxophonist
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Jim
Sonny Rollins is THE NICEST person I EVER met.
More stories later, maybe...
For those who haven’t been around as long as I have, I took my screen name from Bill “Bad Tone Out Of Tune When In Doubt Trill I Won A Medal In High School” Clinton.
Thanks for explaining the FR alias. LOL
What about Wayne Shorter and Michael Brecker?
Dick Parry was Sax soloist on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon................
1. I had my tenor in a flight case on my back, and two guys came up to me.
"Is that a gun?"
"No, something much more dangerous. A saxophone." They had a funny look on their faces when I said that.
2. Guy comes up and says Sonny Stitt!Sonny Stitt!Sonny Stitt!Sonny Stitt! Yes, I know who Sonny Stitt is. I had an idiot girlfriend who said "Sonny's WHAT?"
I left him with that befuddled look on his face, because I had to catch my flight back to Denver.
My favorite movie has a lot of sax in it:
“Some Like It Hot”.
I did meet Michael Brecker. He was a bit of a smartass, like me, so we got a long pretty well.
Of course. It’s been something like 26 years.
Well, nobody’s perfect!
Ditto. We saw Michael Breaker at the Blue Note many years ago and that was my clear impression. He just played his notes, and very well too, then abruptly walked off.
Another good one is “Lethal Weapon”. David Sanborn, who just passed away about a year and a half ago. I think I made a post about that.
Pat Patrick, baritone sax, and father of former Mass. governor Deval Patrick. Also Don Byas and Charlie Rouse.
LOL!
“Do you PLUCK the Bass, or STROKE it with a bow?”
“Mostly I just SLAP it.”
I would like to add Scott Hamilton to your list.
Sometimes the instrument can be dangerous. In 1972 I was invited to the Stan Kenton Clinic at Sacramento State and flew in from the central valley instead of driving. I was carrying my Selmer mark IV alto which was not going to go through baggage and let them toss it around. I had to change planes in San Francisco and I told them what was in the case before they ran it through the x-ray. I had opened it when I was in Fresno. As you can imagine they went nuts not knowing what it was and I was quickly surrounded by men and me and the instrument went to another place adjacent to the boarding areas where I emptied my pockets and then opened the case for them to see the horn. I made the plane, they held it when they found our their screw-up, but I thought I was going to be cuffed and arrested for previously trying to tell them what it was and still getting “caught.”
United gave me a free trip to anywhere voucher and were all apologies. Haven’t flown United since and threw the voucher away.
wy69
Oh I really like David Sanborn. I’ll have to check that out.
Funny story from that moment:
A Park Police officer rode up to me on a bike. "What's in the box?"
"Something very dangerous. A saxophone"
He just kinda laughed and rode off.
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