Pete Christlieb
Encyclopedia
Pete Christlieb is a jazz
bebop
, West Coast jazz
and hard bop
tenor saxophonist.
and is the son of bassoonist Don Christlieb. Christlieb has worked with many musicians, such as Tom Waits
, Louie Bellson
, Chet Baker
, Woody Herman
, Count Basie
, Steely Dan
, Doc Severinsen
, Warne Marsh
, The Tonight Show Band Starring Johnny Carson and Bill Holman
.�
Christlieb played the legendary sax solos on Steely Dan
's song Deacon Blues
from the album Aja
, Natalie Cole
's Unforgettable
, and the extended tenor sax solo on the song FM
from the movie of the same name.
Christlieb currently plays with his recently formed 10-piece group, "Tall and Small Band;" the Bill Holman Orchestra; and his own quartet. He is considered by many of his peers to be one of the most versatile and respected Sax players in the Music Business. Also, for years Pete has been an involved in Dragsters, with his cars participating in numerous races in the Southwest and across the country. His team has won two National Championships for Blown Alcohol Dragsters.
made by Cannonball Musical Instruments
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
, West Coast jazz
West coast jazz
West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...
and hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Christlieb was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and is the son of bassoonist Don Christlieb. Christlieb has worked with many musicians, such as Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
, Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
, Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Doc Severinsen
Doc Severinsen
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American pop and jazz trumpeter. He is best known for leading the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.-Early life:...
, Warne Marsh
Warne Marsh
Warne Marion Marsh was an American tenor saxophonist born in Los Angeles.-Biography:Marsh came from an affluent background: his father was the cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh , and his mother Elizabeth was a violinist...
, The Tonight Show Band Starring Johnny Carson and Bill Holman
Bill Holman (musician)
Willis Leonard Holman , known also as Bill Holman, is an American composer/arranger, conductor, saxophonist, and songwriter working primarily in the jazz idiom....
.�
Christlieb played the legendary sax solos on Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
's song Deacon Blues
Deacon Blues
"Deacon Blues" is a song by Steely Dan from their 1977 album Aja.The song contains the lines:In a 1994 AOL chat interview with Becker, someone asked him about the inspiration for "Deacon Blues"...
from the album Aja
Aja (album)
-Charts:AlbumPop Singles-Awards:Grammy Awards-External links:**, courtesy of The Museum of Classic Chicago Television...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
's Unforgettable
Unforgettable... with Love
Unforgettable… with Love is a 1991 album by Natalie Cole, which focuses on covers of standards previously performed by Cole's father, Nat King Cole...
, and the extended tenor sax solo on the song FM
FM (soundtrack)
FM is the original soundtrack to the 1978 film FM. The soundtrack won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.-Track listing:#"FM " - Steely Dan – 4:52#"Night Moves" - Bob Seger – 3:27...
from the movie of the same name.
Christlieb currently plays with his recently formed 10-piece group, "Tall and Small Band;" the Bill Holman Orchestra; and his own quartet. He is considered by many of his peers to be one of the most versatile and respected Sax players in the Music Business. Also, for years Pete has been an involved in Dragsters, with his cars participating in numerous races in the Southwest and across the country. His team has won two National Championships for Blown Alcohol Dragsters.
Saxophone
Christlieb plays his own signature series model of saxophoneSaxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
made by Cannonball Musical Instruments
Cannonball Musical Instruments
Cannonball Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, and musical instrument accessories. The company was founded in 1996 by musicians Tevis and Sheryl Laukat, and is based in Sandy, Utah...
.
Mouthpiece & Reeds
Christlieb plays a vintage Berg Larsen metal mouthpiece (130/0)with Rico (plasticover #2) reeds.Trivia
- Christlieb is an avid drag racerDrag racingDrag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
, and the hand-engraving motif he helped design on his limited edition signature series saxophones features a dragsterDragsterDragster may refer to*Dragster, a rock band of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era.*Dragster, a video game released in 1980.*Dragster, a term referring to a custom-built vehicle used in drag racing....
with a series of smoke and flames.
Discography
- 150 MPH (1974) as a sideman with The Louie Bellson Orchestra
- The Louie Bellson Explosion (1975) as a sideman with The Louie Bellson Orchestra
- Louie Bellson's 7 (1976) with Blue Mitchell, Grant Geissman, Dick Nash, Ross Tompkins
- Matterhorn (1978) as a sideman with The Louie Bellson Orchestra
- Apogee (1978, Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
), produced by Donald FagenDonald FagenDonald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
and Walter BeckerWalter BeckerWalter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:... - Dreamland Express (John DenverJohn DenverHenry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, 1985 RCARCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, as session musician) - Mosaic (1990, Capri RecordsCapri RecordsCapri Records was a short-lived but influential rock and roll record label established in Conroe, Texas by Huey P Meaux and Foy Lee in the early 1960s...
) - The Pete Christlieb-Andy Martin Quintet (1998, Woofy Records)
- For Heaven's Sake (1999, C.a.R.S. Records)
- Live at the Jazz Cave with the Lori Mechem Quartet (2007, Cognito Records)
- Reunion (2010, Origin Records), Hadley CalimanHadley CalimanHadley Caliman , was an American bebop saxophone and flute player.After studying at the Jefferson High School with trumpeter Art Farmer and fellow saxophonist Dexter Gordon, Caliman performed or recorded with Carlos Santana, Joe Henderson, Earl Hines, Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks, Earl Anderza,...
& Pete Christlieb