> Unsafe saxophones (Tenor, Alto, Soprano) > Steamy Hammond organ > Dangerous guitars > Pulsating bass > Compulsive drums So what kind of music is this? Well, it isn’t 'smooth jazz' that's for sure. And neither is it background music. The music here has its roots in the classic Rhythm ‘n’ Blues of the early to mid sixties. But don't let that fool you. This is every inch a modern day production that took full advantage of the tools available in today's state-of-the-art recording studio including some pretty radical saxophone processing where it felt right to do so. Influences are wide; from Coleman Hawkins to King Curtis, from Booker T to Frank Zappa, from Pink Floyd to the Chemical Brothers – yes, electronica and modern beats are all part of the mix here. Here's a brief rundown of the tracks on Unsafe Sax: 1. Whoo-hoo 5.34 If John Lee Hooker had played the saxophone he might have sounded like this. Layered minimalist saxophones build to a fantastic climax that fades out and leaves you wanting more. Just play it again. 2. Do The Crunch 8.26 Kicks off with funky, crunchy guitar, groovin' organ and a compelling sax riff, followed by a gutsy tenor sax solo, a biting organ solo, then, more sax riffs and a heavily treated soprano sax solo, which together crunch their way to a blistering finish. 3. Snake On The Lawn 8.16 Begins with a low-down bluesy tenor sax theme until suddenly all hell breaks loose with a heavily treated tenor sax solo roaring above a spacey Pink Floyd-type rhythm section. The track cools down again with a a somewhat slithery ending. 4. Woke Up This Evening 5.45 A huge tenor sax sound that just gets bigger and bigger, higher and higher and gradually more intense… 5. You'll Come A Cropper (my boy) 8.00 If Steve Cropper (guitarist on Booker T's Green Onions) took up the saxophone he might sound like this. After a riff-based beginning you're treated to searing alto sax and steamy Hammond organ solos before a return to the main theme. 6. Bluesday Mornings 2.58 No demo available because it's less than 3 minutes long. A cool tenor sax blues with a simple piano, bass and drum rhythm section: a musical anaesthetic to settle you down again - if you're driving, we don't want any accidents! Backing Track Available Saxophone players please note - a backing track version of the CD complete with practice loops and sheet music is underway and will be available from Sax Music Plus in the near future. Email Keith Gemmell for details. So who’s this Keith Gemmell guy? Type his name into Google’s search box or take one of the links below and you’ll find out. Keith Gemmell “cut his teeth” playing rock, jazz and blues saxophone at the age of 17 in smoky European clubs and US army bases. This was the mid-sixties and R&B was all the rage in Europe and a typical gig, for Keith, involved backing the popular soul artists of the day. However, by the late sixties, the tide was turning. Flower Power and Psychedelia were influencing the music scene in a big way on both sides of the Atlantic. Many a shorthaired soul band fired their horn sections, boycotted their barbers and metamorphosed into psychedelic combos. Head banging hippies playing air-guitar were now filling the clubs. Saxophones were no longer cool. Clearly, then, a change of style was needed. In 1969 Keith joined forces with art-rockers Howard Werth (later a brief member of the Doors), Trevor Williams and Tony Connor (later to join Hot Chocolate) to form Audience http://www.audienceareback.com The line-up was electrified acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums and Keith on saxophone, flute and clarinet. Note the absence of the obligatory lead guitar. Who, then, was going to provide the high-energy solos, to satisfy all those head-bangers in the audience? The solo role, of course, fell to Keith. As mentioned above, saxophones were pretty un-cool in those days, so to compete with all the Eric Clapton wannabes of the day Keith went electric. He forged his own distinctive sound and style with the aid of echo units and wah-wah pedals. In fact, as it says at this website: http://www.mott-the-dog.com/reviews/new_05/060310_audience.htmI ‘Keith Gemmell was perhaps the number one saxophone and flute player of the day. It can be fairly laid at Keith Gemmell’s door that he was the first musician to make the saxophone sound like a hard rock instrument.’ Audience recorded four albums, two with the legendary producer Gus Dudgeon, famous for his work with Elton John and David Bowie. When Audience imploded, as bands so often do, Keith recorded two albums with folk/rock band Stackridge, for Elton John’s Rocket Record Company. The Elton John connection led to a spot on the legendary 1974 summer Wembley Stadium concert (London, England) with the man himself plus the Beach Boys, the Eagles, Joe Walsh and Chuka Kahn. After a lengthy spell as a London rock, jazz and blues session player, Keith turned musically ‘respectable’ and joined the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, an extraordinarily busy 20/30s authentic jazz orchestra. The work involved extensive worldwide touring – concerts, jazz clubs, high-profile galas plus TV and radio broadcasts. With a rock/R&B background Keith wasn’t so sure that he would fit in with the orchestra at first. But this was no Palm Court-style ensemble. The band played hot dance music originally played by the likes of Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. It was not only enthralling to play – tight horn section and lots of room for improvisation - it was also an education and shortly after joining Keith began scoring arrangements for the orchestra. Upon leaving the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, 14 years later, he had completed over 80 scores and recorded eight CDs with them. Leaving tour buses, trains, boats and planes behind him, in the 90s Keith focused his career efforts on writing and recording. In at the beginning of the music technology revolution he soon had his own personal hi-tech recording facility, which has constantly been updated to the present day. In fact he’s become something of a music technology expert and is the author of no less than eight books on the subject: http://www.pc-publishing.com He also contributes monthly to Music Tech Magazine: http://www.musictechmag.co.uk But of course, despite the time-consuming writing, Keith hasn’t stopped playing great blues saxophone. Using his considerable music technology skills, he composes and records educational sheet music products for budding saxophone players at: http://www.saxmusicplus.com In fact, the writing career has, at long last, provided him with the opportunity to return to his roots and record this gutsy R&B CD, entitled Unsafe Sax. As mentioned above, the music on Unsafe Sax has its roots in the classic rhythm blues of the mid sixties. In that respect it’s a return to the days when Keith was just embarking on his professional music career. Now, if you’re still reading this, you’ll know that back in the 70s, Keith used electronic effects to enhance his sound and help him forge an original style. It’s no surprise to learn, then, that when recording Unsafe Sax, Keith put all that music software that he’s accumulated over the years, to good use. The result is a playing style that fuses classic R&B saxophone with modern sound processing. Oh, and don’t worry about there only being six tracks on this CD. They’re mostly long – but rest assured, you’ll not fall asleep. And don’t forget, every time you reach for your car keys; take this CD with you, too. It’s great music to drive by.