Mark Maxwell, Saxophonist

Here’s a sweet little tune I call Taj Mahal. It captures a certain Smooth-Jazz-Goes-To-India quality that’s light and fun, but also slighly mystical and enticing.

I am unclear as to the exact genesis of this tune. I must have written it about ten years ago but its beginnings are murky - I don’t remember composing or recording the orginal tracks. However, I remember clearly recording the sax and flute parts about four years.

I’m not sure why this song never made it onto a CD; perhaps because it’s so different than most everything else I do. I should probably do a whole collection of these types of tunes. That would be a lot of fun.

As usual, I play everything on this song, including tenor and soprano sax, flute, all the keyboard parts, and the didgeridoo.

For you music theorists, note the use of the sharp 11 in the melody.

(A fun note: I flew down to Tucson yesterday to do some work, and while I’m here I’m staying with my boyhood pal, The Astrologer, Paul Reeder. His cellphone rang while we were on our way to dinner in the car, and low and behold his ringtone was this song, Taj Mahal! He had converted the song into a ringtone on his PC. It really blew my mind hearing that song out of the blue on his phone!)

Enjoy!

I’ve always been a huge John Klemmer fan. Indeed, he and Paul Desmond were my first sax heroes.

Klemmer, the self-styled “Ambassador Of Cool,” was a smooth jazz saxophone pioneer, composing and performing music back in the 70’s that was smooth, hip and easy - way, way before Kenny G broke the world of smooth jazz sax wide open.

Here’s a YouTube clip of Klemmer back in the 70’s when he was only 19! Amazing innovative stuff! And check the size of the gong that Alphonse Mouzon has - it’s huge!

Enjoy!