Here's another sax man who has been around since the 1950s. Jim Horn gained fame with guitarist Duane Eddy and over the ensuing decades has played with the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, John Denver and Garth Brooks. Horn also put out some very good CDs of his own, including tributes to the Beatles and John Denver and a contemporary jazz album "Northern Reflections."
The place to start for those new to Horn's solo work is "A Tribute to John Denver." Even if you're not a fan of Denver's mom-and-apple-pie country vocalizing, you'll be amazed at how Horn draws out the true beauty of such tunes as "Annie's Song," "Country Roads" and "Calypso."
Unfortunately, Jim Horn no longer has a website. But he does have a presence on MySpace and you can still purchase five of his albums, including the John Denver tribute, from the very reliable CD BABY.
Tom King's full-time job is heading a major commercial real-estate firm in Chicago. But he also indulges in his life-long passion for jazz and swing by leading and playing drums with TOM KING & THE ROYAL CHICAGOANS. You won't hear any flashy drum solos here, just straight-ahead Chicago-style jazz.
This is no amateur effort -- the Royal Chicagoans are made up of some of the city's best musicians, including reed man Harry Goldson, Jim Cooper on vibes and Bill Klewitz on guitar.
The group has released four CDs, which you can order from Tom King's website. There is an on-line order form, but no facility for accepting credit cards, so you must pay by check. The CDs are reasonably-priced ($12-16 each, including shipping) and best of all, 100 per cent of the profits go to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and an international research effort known as The Myelin Project. This project is an international coalition of people whose loved ones suffer from demylineating illnesses such as MS. Their mission is to seek a cure to these illnesses.
