Album Notes

Better Than Anything is the first solo effort from Stephen Saxon. Along with Stephen on vocals and trumpet, the CD features Sheldon Brown on tenor and soprano saxophones, Mark Little on piano, Bill Douglass on bass, and Wally Schnalle on drums. The tracks are about evenly split between instrumentals and vocal features. All of the lyrics (including the challenging bebop standards, Donna Lee and Moment's Notice) are composed by Saxon.

Saxon's scat solos (Moment's Notice, Better Than Anything, Blue Doppler Shift) are highlights, as are the ballads Winter In New York (featuring a beautifully lyrical trumpet solo) and the vocal You Can't Go Home Again, a Don Sebesky composition to which he wrote a beautiful set of lyrics.

Stephen Saxon has performed or recorded with The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Chet Baker, Michael Brecker, Shlomo Carlebach, Chanticleer, Richie Cole, Jose Feliciano, Dave Gruisin, The Klezmorim, Bobby McFerrin, Zalmen Mlotek, Amenata Moseka (Abby Lincoln), Mark Murphy, Phil Mattson, The San Francisco Klezmer Experience, The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Gunther Schuller, Kirby Shaw, The Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Buddy Tate, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mal Waldron, John Williams, and Frank Zappa, among others.

This CD is published and distributed by Saxonotes (www.saxon.com/saxonotes).
To learn more about Stephen Saxon, go to www.saxon.com.