Don Castellow


Baritone sax on “I’m Too Beau’ful”, on “Deliver Me”, “One Last Look” and “Whistle At Me” ; bass sax and clarinet on “Leave Me Alone”; tambourine on “Sleep Naked” and “I’m Too Beau’ful”; finger snaps and “hi honey” on “Baby Please Come on Home”. handclaps on “I’m Too Beau’ful”, “Deliver Me”, Whistle At Me”. To paraphrase Frank Zappa, “If you’re going to start a rock ‘n roll band, you need a baritone sax.” Soft spoken, sweet Southern gentleman, Donnie was our utility man. Player/arranger with blues legends Rosco Gordon and Pinetop Perkins, he toured with Boz Scaggs band in 1997. “Lowhorn”, as Pinetop calls him, has deep chops on bass sax as well as bari and his reading is impeccable.

ER: Everytime we needed handclaps, finger snaps or tambourine, Shinya and I called upon Donnie to drop everything and record. Shinya was blown away by Donnie’s time. Until you’ve stood in those shoes, you don’t know how physically taxing it is to do this. Your hands get bloody red. Your fingers get numb. And you have got to be able to play on the beat, behind the beat and ahead of the beat, depending on the groove. He’s my champion. That’s why I married him.

(BTW, during the nine months we recorded, Donnie and Shinya enjoyed lots of apres session wines and good home cookin’. They’re both great cooks and Shinya is the most enthusiastic eater I have ever encountered.)



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