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Your favorite saxophone riffs

South Austin

By South Austin
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South Austin

South Austin 52600

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I'm not the biggest saxophone fan, but there are some timeless saxophone riffs in rock and roll history.  Some of my favorites:

Clarence Clemons' solo in Jungleland.  I want this played at my funeral procession. At the 3:55 mark.

 

The opening riff in Harden My Heart by Quarterflash (which makes up for the incredibly horrible 80s video).

 

The solo in INXS's Beautiful Girl.  Around the 2:05 mark.

 

Watchu got?

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WhatTheBuck

WhatTheBuck 28798

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Oh, man, I could come up with so many examples. But the first one that came to mind was the one at the end of All Mixed Up by The Cars, the last song on their first album. It’s kind of weird thinking about The Cars when it comes to the saxophone because that was so much not a part of their sound.

When I was a freshman, Ric Ocasek’s son was a student at the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) and he had a band that performed in a free, school-sponsored concert on the bank of the Olentangy next to my dorm. (One of those two towers you see next to the stadium. They’re named Morrill and Lincoln, btw. The meaning should be obvious. I lived in Morrill Tower, the one closer to the stadium, or “Immorrill Tower” as we used to call it because they were co-ed dorms with a bunch of young men and women living next to each other and away from home for the first time.)

But I digress.

Anyway, Ric’s kid’s band had a sax player in it and they played some songs that sort of emulated the mournful quality of the sax part at the end of All Mixed Up, a song by Ben Orr, ironically, not Ric Ocasek. There were beer stands, the sun was setting, we were all chilling next to the river, and I couldn’t help but notice the similarity. I couldn’t begin to guess the name of that band. But it was an awesome day.

(RIP Ben Orr. RIP Ric Ocasek.)

 

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ztejas

ztejas 43537

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31 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

Baker Street and Turn the Page are as good as it gets.

Yeah I mean Baker Street is #1 for me here and everyone else can fend for 2nd. That's one of the most brilliant songs ever written. And the sax goes two deep - the alternate riff towards the end really brings it home. 

Ah shit - the 2nd riff is actually electric guitar. So the sax doesn't go two deep. One deep is enough I guess. 

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sidis

sidis 9832

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these child molesters came up with a pretty decent lick.

 

 

 

this one wasn't a virtuosic performance by any stretch but damned if it wasn't a solid hook.  thrift shop would probably fall into this category too.

 

 

 

but my personal favorite (which wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that knows my taste)...

 

these are all in addition to the obvious ones like careless whisper, baker street, money, born to run, just the way you are.

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WhatTheBuck

WhatTheBuck 28798

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On 5/1/2022 at 11:33 PM, Hate said:

I'm surprised that WTB didn't post this one. 

Here is how it all came about.

https://www.locknfestival.com/news/how-an-unbelievable-collaboration-between-the-grateful-dead-and-branford-marsalis-made-one-of-the-most-legendary-shows-of-all-time

Lulz. Like I said, I could come up with so many examples. And that’s a good one. But why would I post that when I knew...absolutely KNEW...that you would post it? Because it lives in one of the narrow little windows through which you view slivers of the Dead’s vast catalog. No, I figured I’d leave that up to you and you didn’t disappoint.

I haven’t decided on the best choice to select from Mel Collins’ performances for King Crimson. The entire Morphine catalog could be posted because Dana Colley was always brilliant. How about Galactic and their sax player Ben Ellman? He’s solid (and I saw him play with Phil & Friends at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley in 1998).

There are a lot of choices I could select from Frank Zappa’s many bands and vast repertoire. I’ll choose this one which features Ian Underwood playing his sax with a wah-wah pedal (this is a great album...if you don’t own it then go buy it):

And I’ll throw this in from Columbus’ own Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing two saxes at once (and watch him demonstrate that circular breathing technique where he can just keep playing without taking a break):

 

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WhatTheBuck

WhatTheBuck 28798

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Are you familiar with the Seattle-based saxophonist Skerik? He’s sort of like a mad scientist. Here he is with Critters Buggin. I have one of their albums (Host) and a half dozen live bootlegs. They’re great and really get out there.

He also played sax in Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Les’s  entry into jam band territory and who played some of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. (Oysterhead was pretty cool too but they were a trio with no sax player). Frog Brigade 12/30-31/00 at the Fillmore in San Francisco are as good as anything I’ve ever seen live. And I’ve seen a lot.

One of my prouder moments was back in my trading days when Skerik appeared as a guest at a Galactic show in Columbus. I was contacted by a Skerik fan from Seattle on a mailing list I was on and asked if I could find him a recording of that show. As it happened, I knew a taper who had recorded the show and I was able to hook him up. I was happy to help a brother out. I miss those days of the community of traders of live music.

Anyway, I have a good bootleg recording of this show. Here’s a sample:

 

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Mach 1

Mach 1 1677

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I've always really liked this Thin Lizzy song

 

But this one is my favorite. I saw it live on the Born in the USA tour and the crowd went nuts when Clarence let it fly

 

Edited by Mach 1
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