What's New with Sax Gordon

	WHAT'S NEW

	Hi Everybody!! Just a few more days till I hit the road for the summer, so let me fill you in on what's been happening and what's coming up. I started off 2009 playing New Years Eve with the Al Copley Band at Marian's Jazzroom in Bern Switzerland. This time we had the great trumpeter Scott Aruda with us so it was a blast as usual! I continued on to Germany for a tour with the Bluesnight Band, who I'll also be working with this summer at the Grand Jam Festivals in Georgsmarienhuette and Bergkamen. My old friend, the trumpeter Boney Fields, is another one of the guests on the bill and he's always great to work with, in fact the whole line-up is great so don't miss it!


	Boney and I will also both be working in Dr. Joe Castellano's Superband around Italy and Sicily this summer with even more special guests. Joe's new double live CD featuring myself along with Chris Cain, Roy Roberts, Waldo Weathers, and Simone D is out and the band is BIG! Look for appearances at the Blues & Wine Soul Festivals - but wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself, back to this winter... Throughout January/February/March 2009 I did a lot of gigs with young guitar sensation Matt Stubbs. The Matthew Stubbs Band featuring Sax Gordon only works in the winter when Matt's not off playing guitar with the Charlie Musselwhite Band. We're already booking Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb 2009 so you'd better hurry up if you want to get the band for a date! You can see a few clips on YouTube, in fact there's one posted on my Myspace site (www.myspace.com/saxgordon). We've also been in the studio recording a follow-up to his very successful debut CD "Soul Bender" (released on the Vizztone label), more about recording later... I also took some time in early 2009 to play some gigs in Italy with Leo Boni & Blue Gadjo, who miraculously transform into the Sax Gordon Band when I get a gig! February is actually a great time to be in Italy/Tuscany - the flights are cheaper and there's less tourists. Hmmm, maybe we should plan to meet over there in Feb 2010!

	Gordon and guitarist Leo Boni in Tuscany - Feb '09 - photo by Alessandra Squaglia
	In March I had the pleasure of joining the great Charlie Baty (formerly of Little Charlie & the Nightcats) to record his first solo CD at a beautiful castle/studio in Limoges, France. Nightcats bandmembers J Hansen (drums) and Lorenzo Farrell (bass) swung like mad and Chris Siebert (from the incredible Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers) played classy Jazz and Blues piano. Charlie of course played great and surprised everybody with his wild and spontaneous solos over a variety of swing, soul jazz, blues, and gypsy swing tunes. Otis Grand was even on hand to lend guitars, amps and his expert production help. By the way - drummer J Hansen has a great new CD out himself ("Give The Drummer Some") and you can catch him and Lorenzo on the road now with Rick Estrin & the Nightcats - the show must go on!

	Otis Grand & Gordon - Limoges, France - March '09 - photo by Chris Siebert	From top to bottom - Gordon, Charlie Baty, Lorenzo Farrell, J Hansen, Chris Siebert - March '09
	On another weekend in March I got to be a special guest with the Udens Big Band in the Netherlands, a long running community group celebrating 50 years of playing big band jazz! The band was great, and the singers and dancers really made the occasion special. Thanks to Wim van der Heijden for helping to arrange everything and for lending me his cool Martin tenor sax after I busted mine in rehearsal!

	Sax Gordon & the Udens Big Band - Uden, Netherlands - March 28, 2009 - photo by Evelien IJpelaar
	It really was a busy Spring, I had just enough time to get back from a weekend in Milan with Dr. Joe Castellano's Superband (with great guests like percussionist Lennie Castro, Chicago Blues singer Sharon Lewis and former Al Green bandleader Michael Allen!) when I was tossed into the Battle of the Saxes at the Regattabar in Harvard Sq. Cambridge. Boston jazz piano mainstay Rusty Scott organizes this extravaganza which features his regular tenor player Tim Mayer, the great Bill Pierce (chairman of the sax dept. at Berklee College of Music and former Jazz Messenger!), and myself - desperately trying to hold my own with these world-class jazz saxists! Somehow I made it through and now I'm really ready for the next battle!


	The Rusty Scott Trio & the Battle of the Saxes - Rusty Scott (piano), Luther Gray (drums), Gordon, Tim Mayer, Bill Pierce, Keala Kaumeheiwa (bass) - the Regattabar, Cambridge, MA - May 5, '09 - Jeanbutlerphotography.com
	After the battle I ran back to Europe to recover in the company of the R&B Explosion, a rockin and groovin' organ group featuring myself, guitarist Alex Schultz, and organist Raphael Wressnig. Drummer Silvio Berger was along with us for the first time and we had the good fortune to be joined by the up-and-coming singer Nadja Großpietsch for two nights at the Jazzclub in Hannover, Germany.

	The R&B Explosion & Nadja Großpietsch - Jazzclub - Hannover, Germany - May 2009	Gordon & Nadja Großpietsch - Jazzclub - Hannover, Germany - May 2009
	It was also great to have a surprise visit from former James Brown sideman Waldo Weathers at the great little Club Bastion in Kirchheim, Germany. Waldo joined us for a few tunes and knocked everyone out! I've had the pleasure of working with Waldo a few times and we always have a ball! Look for him performing around Europe in the upcoming months and check him out on-line at www.myspace.com/waldoweathers or www.geocities.com/waldoweathers/.


	Alex Schultz, Waldo Weathers, Gordon, Silvio Berger, Raphael Wressnig - Club Bastion - Kirchheim, Germany - May 9, '09	Gordon, Waldo Weathers, & Chris Cain - Sicily - 2007 - photo by Angelika Beck (www.angelikabeck.com)

	The R&B Explosion will be appearing around Europe in July, check my SCHEDULE page for details. There's even a few special events along the way - I'll be doing a saxophone master class before our performance at the Festival Vache de Blues in Audun-Le-Tiche, France on July 4th, and trumpeter Scott Steen from the Royal Crown Revue and Bette Midler's band will be with us in Austria. Sounds like fun!

		The R&B Explosion - Alex Schultz, Gordon, Lukas Knöfler, Raphael Wressnig
	I'm starting off the summer in beautiful Spain with a band put together by my old friend, the great keyboardist Jose Manuel Domenech Gonzalez. We'll have a horn section so I'll be able to perform a lot of the new songs I've been recording - this is the new sound! Thanks to Jose for putting it all together! I might even try to drag them into a studio! I'll be around Italy in mid-July with my own band (who are really Leo Boni & Blue Gadjo!) at the Marco Fiume Blues Passion Festival in Paola (16th) and Rossano (17th) and I'll be a guest with the Morblus Band in Verona on the 18th. Morblus guitarist/vocalist Roberto Morbioli has been making waves around Boston when he's been coming over to do gigs with singer Diane Blue. I've played many a night with Diane at my favorite bar - the Cantab Lounge in Central Sq, Cambridge and it's great to see her getting overseas to perform too. She'll be with the Morblus Band in July on some other gigs, you better check her out at www.dianebluemusic.com and see what's going on! After late July and early August gigs with Dr. Joe Castellano's Big Band in Italy and Sicily (the dates are still coming in so keep your eye on the SCHEDULE page) I'll be back in the USA and by special arrangement I'll perform at private engagements with Jerry Bennett's Sultans of Swing. Playing in the finest rooms for celebrities and the elite of high society is all in a days work for Jerry and the crew, so if you find yourself in need of a band for that special night you better get in touch with him at www.thesultansofswing.com. Tell him Gordon sent you to get a special discount (yeah, right!)

	Jerry Bennett, Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, Gordon	Gordon, Hugh, trumpet great John Allmark, Jerry Bennett and ??
	I mentioned recording earlier - that's because I have two - that's right - 2 new CDs in the works! I recorded one right here in the USA with many of the wonderful musicians I've had the good fortune to work with over the years (even some kind-of famous guys, but I ain't sayin who they are till the disc comes out...), and the other is recorded entirely in Europe with musicians and bands I've also worked with for years. I've done recording sessions in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and I have a studio booked in Austria in July... Hmmm, I still gotta do Spain and France, maybe by the end of this summer I'll have it all! There's so many great musicians in Europe that have helped me out so much and I want you to hear everybody! OK - that's it for now, I hope to see you soon, have a great summer!! - Gordon