Sonny Fortune sax 1939 Philadelphia PA
Sonny began to study music at the age of 18, and then worked with rhythm-and-blues groups in and around the Philadelphia area. It was in 1967 that he began playing jazz ,while working with the singer, Carolyn Harris. In early '68 Sonny moved to New York and began playing with Elvin Jones as a temporary replacement for Frank Foster. From 1968 to 1971 Sonny worked with McCoy Tyner and also led a small band of his own. For two years, (1974-1975), Sonny worked in groups led by Buddy Rich and then Miles Davis. Although some of Sonny's albums have included many of his own compositions, he is principally an instrumentalist. In addition to the alto sax, Sonny also works with the soprano sax and flute. Sonny Fortune is a musician with a firm understanding of the blues, swing, and bop, and is better known in the jazz community than with the general public.
George Auld sax 1919 Toronto Ontario
George (Georgie) Auld began his career on alto sax but switched to tenor after hearing Coleman Hawkins. His first work was actually more traditional jazz than swing. He led his own band at Nick's in New York, and then went with Bunny Berigan and later Artie Shaw in the late '30s. In 1940 Georgie became a member of the Benny Goodman orchestra and sextet. From 1943- 46 he led a band while serving in the army. After being discharged, Auld recorded with his own band that, at times, included bop players such as Dizzy Gillespie, Errol Garner, Serge Chaloff and Stan Levey. Outstanding arrangements were supplied by Al Cohn, Neal Hefti, and Tad Dameron during this period. Georgie recorded Tad Dameron's classic "A Hundred Years From Today", with Sarah Vaughn doing the vocal. This number was a big hit as a popular release in the mid '40s. Georgie had other talents too, appearing at times as an actor on the Broadway stage. After playing with the Count Basie octet in 1950, he worked mainly as a freelance musician for the next ten years. During the 1970s he organized a tour of Japan that was a big success. Auld appeared as an actor in the film "New York, New York" in 1967, and also performed as a musician on the film's sound-track. Georgie, a superb technician , has managed to keep pace with all of the the stylistic changes in musical developments over a half century, while maintaining an individual, identifiable sound that is strictly Georgie Auld.
Cecil McBee bass 1935 Tulsa OK
Cecil played the clarinet when in his early teens, before switching to the double bass at the age of 17. He attended Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, at intervals between the early '50s and the early '60s. In 1959 he worked with Dinah Washington and several other singers. Between 1959-61 Cecil served in the US Army where he led an orchestra at Ft. Knox, Ky. While in the service he also took up the double bass, and belonged to several small groups. After his discharge he moved to Detroit where he worked with Paul Winter for two years, and then moved to New York. During the following years he played with Grachan Moncur 111 (1964-65), Jackie McLean, Wayne Shorter, Charles Tolliver, and Charles Lloyd. From the latter '60s until the mid '70s Cecil worked with Yusef Lateef, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Chico Freeman. During the 1980s he played with Art Pepper, McCoy Tyner, Mal Waldron, and JoAnne Brackeen, and also led several different small groups under his own direction. Cecil is a versatile musician who is equally at ease playing bop, modal jazz, swing, and free jazz. He has a highly-developed, technique, which he uses judiciously, and a rich, full tone.
Tom Scott sax 1948 Los Angeles CA
Tom, like many reed players, studied clarinet, soprano sax, and alto sax before settling on the tenor sax By the age of 19 Tom had already performed with the orchestras of Oliver Nelson, Don Ellis, and in small groups led by Howard Roberts and the pianist, Roger Kellaway. While still young, he was composing for films, and was in demand for studio work. He made his first recordings as a leader in 1967, making use of elements of rock and some electronic effects. It was during this period he recorded one of his most popular songs, "Blues for Hari". Tom began doing a great deal of jazz-rock in 1973 with his group The L.A. Express, a fusion group which also toured and recorded with Joni Mitchell. Their performances combined Mitchell's poetic folk lyrics with jazz improvisation and rock accompaniment. Some of the musicians in the group were Max Bennett, John Guerin, Joe Sample, and Larry Carlton. Tom played the main solo on Carole King's hit recording "Jazzmzn" in the mid '70s Because Tom had studied Indian music at one time, he was hired as music director and soloist with the sitar player, Ravi Shankar and the former Beatle, George Harrison in 1975. From the late '70s Tom has toured only occasionally, and has worked mainly as a studio musician in Los Angeles. In the early part of the'80s he played the saxophone and lyricon in groups that blended elements of rock, soul, and some jazz.
