What in the world is Mysterious Sax Friday? Glad you asked. Have you ever had a day when all the songs you heard had a certain instrument that stuck out in your brain? Well, it happens to me a lot. And it’s probably 70% of the time a guitar but every now and then another instrument overpowers my thinking. This time it was the cool cat sounds of the Saxophone.
If Belgium has anything to be proud of, it’s the fact that they brought this lovely instrument to the world. Invented back in 1840 by Adolphe Sax, this instrument is most commonly known for its work in Jazz and Funk. The two artists that I was listening to today that sparked this post embodie some Jazz and some Funk. One having more roots than the other and one having more modern day exposure than the other. But while both are from completey different worlds, both sax solos bring out the sexy side in the instrument.
I was introduce to Shuggie Otis back in college while living in the dorms. It was one of those eye opening experiences when I started to realize that hey, there’s a ton of great music out there that isn’t being played by a band called Phish. Little did I know that there is actually a small connection to Phish. Shuggie was the bass player on the Frank Zappa song, “Peaches En Regalia”, and Phish made this song a regular part of their repertoire in the late 80′s.
His father, Johnny Otis, was a rhythm and blues artist and Shug’s music is wrapped in blues, jazz, funk and pop. One interesting little tidbit is that he was apparently asked to play guitar for a little known British band called The Rolling Stones. He of course declined. Shuggie is still alive and kicking today living in Northern California. The song I heard today was “Freedom Flight” off of Inspiration Information (Originally released in 1974, and most recently re-released by David Byrne’s label, Luaka Pop). This is a long song, clocking in at about 12 minutes, but the sax is played throughout.
MP3: “Freedom Flight”
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I was watching some cable the other day at my girlfriends as I currently don’t have cable. Try it some time, it’s quite refreshing. But since I don’t have cable, that means I am out of the pop culture loop a bit and I didn’t realize how big Chromeo was getting until I saw them on MTV. Watch this short clip of them jamming “Bonafied Lovin” from their recent album, on top of a bus in Time Square. It makes sense because Chromeo is stooped in 80′s throw back riffs, which are all the craze, and their electronic roots make them that much more In The Scene these days.
If you’re just being introduce to Chromeo, they are Dave 1 and P-Thugg. One is Jewish and the other Palestinian. Yes, that is right, we are forging ahead and bringing peace to the Middle East through dance fever. Their most recent album, Fancy Footwork (Vice Records), hit stores a month or so back and it hasn’t left my iPod since. It’s great for getting the party started or helping to put you on the right track in the morning, like it did for me today.
The song I was listening to today was “100%” off of Fancy Footwork. This sax has a real mysterious 80′s vibe. Kind of reminds me of a cop movie where some Private eye is hanging out in a dark alley outside a bar, leaning up against the brick wall smoking a cigarette. A lady walks up and says, “hey there, you got my pictures”. And he says, “I got um but you ain’t going to like them. I’ve got your husband playing patty cake all night with Debbie. It looks like you could use some revenge.” “Oh yeah,” says the lady. “My car is around the corner, how about we take a little ride.” In comes the sax. It is subtle and the first solo comes at about 1:20 min in to the song.
MP3: “100%”
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Bonus MP3: “Peaches En Regalia” (Performed by Phish on 4/29/1987 at Nectar’s Bar in Burlington, Vermont).
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P.S. Grab more MP3′s by Chromeo and some other great mixes from Vice’s MP3 site.
