Richard Elliot (born January 16, 1960) is a Scottish-born American saxophonist. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (previously: Best Pop Instrumental Album) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording arti ...

at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

for ''

Summer Horns ''Summer Horns'' is a collaboration album by Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot. It was released on May 7, 2013 via Concord Records. The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 56th Annual ...

''.

Career

Elliot started out as a member of the jazz-rock unit, KittyHawk, playing

lyricon The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed. Invented by Bill Bernardi (and co-engineered by Roger Noble and with the late Lyricon performer Chuck GreenbergIngham (1998) p.184), filed for patent on ...

(a wind synthesizer) and saxophone, and recording several albums with them. He then became a member of the funk band

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

, playing tenor sax for five years during the 1980s. That was followed by a stint at a member of the Yellowjackets. He also worked on

Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career The 1979 song "Ring My Bell" was originally written for then twelve-year-old Lattisaw, as a teenybopper song ...

's 1986 album ''Take Me All the Way''. His solo career took off when he remade the

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

classic "When a Man Loves a Woman", which had also been remade by

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

. Other well-known songs include "In the Groove", "Take Your Time", "Crush", "Chill Factor", "Corner Pocket" and "Sly", as well as remakes of classic pop songs such as "I'm Not in Love" and the

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

hits "Here and Now" and "Your Secret Love". Elliot participated with fellow saxophonists Paul Taylor and

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

, as well as keyboardist

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for '' Prototype' ...

, in the "Grooving for Grover" concert series. The series honored the legacy of the late

Grover Washington Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wr ...

Elliot was known for his zebra-striped tenor saxophone. In 2011, he switched from LA SAX Saxes to Dakota Saxophones, which the owner, Peter LaPlaca, sold for Dakota. In 2005, Elliot joined trumpeter

Rick Braun Rick Braun (born July 6, 1955) is a smooth jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and keyboards player, vocalist, composer, and record producer. Career Braun was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended Dieruff High School. His mother was a se ...

to co-found their own label, ARTizen Music Group (now known as

Artistry Music Artistry Music (formerly ARTizen Music Group') is a record label founded by Brian Bromberg, Lucille Hunt, Rahsaan Patterson, and enny Stilwell that specializes in smooth jazz. In 2008, Mack Avenue Records">smooth_jazz.html" ;"title="enny Stilw ...

). Among the first albums on that label is Elliot's own ''Metro Blue''. Elliot played the

on several songs on the album ''

Mirage a Trois ''Mirage a Trois'' is the second album of the American jazz group Yellowjackets, released in 1983. The album reached a peak position of number 145 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 7 on '' Billboard'' Jazz Albums chart. It was nominated for t ...

'' (1983) by the

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, e ...

Discography

* ''Initial Approach'' (ITI, 1984) * ''Trolltown'' (Intima, 1986) * ''The Power of Suggestion'' (Intima, 1988) * ''Take to the Skies'' (Intima, 1989) * ''What's Inside'' (Enigma, 1990) * ''On the Town'' (Manhattan, 1991) * ''Soul Embrace'' (Capitol/Manhattan, 1993) * ''After Dark'' (Blue Note, 1994) * ''City Speak'' (Blue Note, 1996) * ''Jumpin' Off'' (Metro Blue, 1997) * ''Chill Factor'' (Capitol/Blue Note, 1999) * ''Crush'' (Verve/GRP, 2001) * ''Ricochet'' (GRP, 2003) * ''Metro Blue'' (Artizen, 2005) * ''R n R'' (featuring

) (Artizen, 2007) * ''Rock Steady'' (Artistry Music, 2009) * ''In the Zone'' (Artistry Music, 2011) * ''Lip Service'' (Heads Up, 2014) * ''Summer Madness'' (Hear Music, 2016) * ''Authentic Life'' (Shanachie, 2021)

Awards and nominations

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References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Richard 1960 births Living people Tower of Power members Smooth jazz saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists British male saxophonists Scottish jazz saxophonists 21st-century British male musicians Mack Avenue Records artists British male jazz musicians