CHARLES "BOSS TENOR" FAIRLEY
From Moss Point, Mississippi, Charlie is considered by most to be the elder statesman of the Gulf Coast's musical community. Charles is a walking, talking musical encyclopedia. This man has played and recorded with a virtual who's who of fifties and sixties R & B greats from Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones ,Boots Alexis and Eddie Bo in New Orleans during the mid fifties to Ted Taylor and Otis Redding on the road in the sixties. Charlie has played on stages from the Olympia Theatre in Paris to the world famous Apollo Theatre in New York City . His road tales of being Guitar Slim's bandleader at New Orlean's Dew Drop Inn and playing behind Otis Redding are a constant source of delight for me. Charlie , beyond a doubt, is the finest musician that I have ever shared a stage with. He is always a joy to have in my band and will always be "BOSS TENOR" .
Joe was born and raised in St. Louis , Mo. And has been playing professionally since his college days. Joe has played with The Temptations and Martha Reeves as well as entertainers like Joan Rivers and Don Rickles. Joe lived on the coast from 1992 until 1999. Joe joined the band in 1998 and played with us for about two years. He still occasionally makes a road trip back to play some gigs with us and is still very much in the band family. The thing that always blew me away about Joe was the fact that he played with the maturity of a player twice his age!!! Anyone listening to him would swear that he'd been playing professionally for thirty years!!
Another walking musical encyclopedia and legend!!! Joe Arnold was born and raised in Memphis. From 1965 to 1967 Joe played tenor sax as a staff musician at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis. He played on all of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King and other Stax records that were recorded during this period which was their hayday. He played as a member of The Markeys and along with Booker T and the MG's, backed Otis Redding and the other Stax Artists on the legendary Stax/Volt Tour of Europe in 1966. Joe also played on many of the great Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett and Etta James records as well as many other recordings done in Muscle Shoals in the mid to late sixties. Joe recently has been working with Bobby Blue Bland Orchestra and they just completed a tour of England and Ireland with Van Morrison. Joe is based in Memphis again but still plays the coast when ever he is able.
Originally
born and raised in Pennsylvania, Mark came to the Gulf Coast after stops in Southern
Florida and the Bahamas. Mark is a classically trained trombonist who later
switched to saxophone. He is a certified steinway piano technician and a
Master brass and lacquer craftsman. His true love is buying old vintage
Selmer saxophones and restoring them to mint condition. He sells these
restored horns to players all over the world. Mark is a real brother and
"The Iceman" is always welcome on my stage!
Mark played with me
for over twelve years.