Andrew Paul Woolfolk II (October 11, 1950 – April 24, 2022) was an American

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. Woolfolk was a longtime member of the band

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

from 1973 to 1985, and from 1987 to 1993. He also collaborated with artists such as

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion dur ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Twennynine Twennynine, also known as Twennynine with Lenny White, was an American R&B band founded in 1979. Overview Twennynine was founded by jazz fusion drummer Lenny White in 1979 after he left Return to Forever. White formed the band to explore commerc ...

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wi ...

, and

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

Biography

Woolfolk attended East High School in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1972 he joined the band

as a saxophonist and became a longstanding member. Woolfolk was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire in 2000. In 2017, Woolfolk was inducted into the

Colorado Music Hall of Fame The Colorado Music Hall of Fame is a museum located in the Trading Post at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted its first honorees in 2011, with songwriter John Denver and the Red Rocks Amphitheatre as its first honoree ...

. Woolfolk died on April 24, 2022, after a long illness.

Collaborations

Aside from his work with EW&F, Woolfolk played the saxophone on

Valerie Carter Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017) was an American singer. Biography Carter began her career singing in coffeehouses as a teenager, and eventually became one-third of the country-folk band Howdy Moon. Though they de ...

's 1977 album '' Just a Stone's Throw Away'',

' 1977 LP ''

Song Bird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

'',

's 1979 album '' Best of Friends'', and

's 1981 LP '' Tender Togetherness''. He later performed on

's 1983 album '' Standing in the Light'',

's 1984

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated LP ''

The Wonders of His Love ''The Wonders of His Love'' is the second studio album by Philip Bailey released in 1984 on Myrrh Records. This was his first gospel album peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart and No. 17 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums ...

'', and Bailey's 1986 Grammy-winning album ''

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

''. Woolfolk also played the saxophone on

Tracie Spencer Tracie Monique Spencer (born July 12, 1976) is an American singer–songwriter, actress, and model. Spencer first came to attention in 1987, when the then 11-year-old won the junior vocalist competition on the television show ''Star Search''. ...

's 1988 self titled album and on

' 1996 album ''

Dance Into the Light ''Dance into the Light'' is the sixth solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins, released on 8 October 1996 in the United States and on 21 October 1996 in the United Kingdom by Face Value Records. It features guest ...

''.

References

External links

* * 1950 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American multi-instrumentalists Musicians from Texas Earth, Wind & Fire members 20th-century saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists {{US-woodwind-musician-stub