David "The Sax Man" Brown to play Fort Scott's Liberty Theater October 11

Special to The Tribune

On October 11, David "the Sax Man" Brown, will be gracing the stage of Fort Scott's Liberty Theater.

Brown has received rave reviews from numerous critics performing a blend of saxaphone, song and dance.

The following is a review of Brown written by Len Butcher for the Review Journal.

If you love the sax, like I do, or if you just want to have a good time listening to some great music, drop in to the Kabuki Lounge at the Imperial Palace Sept. 14-20. That's when David "The Sax Man" Brown will once again do what he does best. I had a chance to talk to David, who now makes his home in our town.

Born and raised in Stockton, Calif., he started playing saxophone at a very young age under the tutelage of a great teacher -- his father, Earl "Good Rockin" Brown, a Blues Hall of Famer. He formed his own little band when he was in the seventh grade, performing at talent shows around town.

From there, he and the band moved up to local clubs, doing mostly Top 40 music. "After graduation from high school," David said, "I signed a government contract to go on a Department of Defense tour. We did hour and a half shows for the servicemen based in places like Korea, Japan, Philippines, Hawaii and Alaska. It was a great experience for a young guy."

Then disco became the rage, pushing almost every other kind of music into the background, but David was still able to perform, doing what he called "the Red Lion Inn circuit. They liked live entertainment, so we signed on and played in their hotels up and down the West Coast." He first came to Las Vegas to perform with his dad.

"I really enjoyed it and wanted to come back and perform on my own." Last September he did just that. "I put together this sax project which puts the sax on a higher level -- a more energy level. Not the laid-back, contemporary jazz level that many people are used to hearing. I mixed the sax into music where you didn't hear the sax before, and it works beautifully."

His performance consists of about 60 percent sax playing, the rest singing and dancing with his brother Dynamic D, who is also his musical director. The result is a high-octane performance that gets the juices flowing, if I'm allowed to say that in a family column. David is a ball of energy who soon has the audience revved up to high gear. It's what he likes to call a "saxful experience."

David has just released his first CD, "Living Large -- Live in Las Vegas" and said he will have it available at the show. This loving, single father of a 15-year-old daughter, who he calls "a handful", does a lot of charity gigs, most recently one for the homeless. It's nice to see someone who gives something back to the community.