Christlieb, Pete (16th February 1945-Present)

He is tenor saxophone player born in Los Angeles, California to a family where his father was the bassoonist Don Christlieb. He began in music by playing the violin when he was about 6 years old but when he was 13 he swapped to the saxophone. He studied with Bob Cooper who played with the Lighthouse All-Stars and on occasion would sit in for him if he was otherwise engaged. After he had finished high school he studied at Valley College before touring with the Si Zentner band and later joining Woody Herman after Joe Farrell had left.

Since then his career he has seen him performing with countless artists in jazz, bebop ad pop styles and was the solo saxophonist on the songs “Deacon Blue” by Steely Dan from the Grammy Award winning album Aja. He also performed a sax solo with them on “FM (No Static At All)” and on the Grammy Award winning Unforgettable by Natalie Cole. He has also been a jazz musician in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Some of the many artists he has performed with include Christine Aguilera, David Axelrod, Chet Baker, Ray Barretto, Walter Becker, Cheryl Bentyne, Bobby Bryant, Michael Buble, Bobby Caldwell, Rosemary Clooney, Count Basie, Sonny Criss, John Denver, Extreme, Percy Faith, The 5th Dimension, Clare Fischer, Bob Florence, Dan Fogelberg, Dizzy Gillespie, Leslie Gore, Dave Grusin, Bill Holman, Freddie Hubbard, Jim Hughart, Earl Klugh, Diana Krall, Queen Latifah, Peggy Lee, Michel Legrand, Cheryl Lynn, Carmen McRae, Ronnie Milsap, Walter Murphy, Freda Payne, Esther Phillips, Diane Schuur, Tom Scott, Jim Self, Doc Severinsen, Livingston Taylor, Toni Tennille, Bob Thiele, The Tonight Show Band, who he was with for 20 years, Triumvirat, Gary Urwin, Narada Michael Walden, Tom Waits, Bill Watrous and Vanessa Williams.

A selection of the numerous recordings he has performed on include his own Self Portrait, Going My Way and Jazz City: A Quartet with Pete Christlieb and the joint Apogee and Conversations with Warne with Warne Marsh, along with Made in California by The Beach Boys, Don’t Stop Now, 150 MPH and Prime Time by Louis Bellson, Dreamer by Bobby “Blue” Bland, Soul on Top by James Brown, Born to Love by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack, A Touch of Blue by David Cassidy, Wings by Michel Colombier, Rita Coolidge/Nice Feeling by Rita Coolidge, In My Lifetime by Neil Diamond, Afterglow by Dr. John, Smackwater Jack by Quincy Jones, Pastiche by The Manhattan Transfer, Manilow Sings Sinatra by Barry Manilow, Peach Melba by Melba Moore, Elvis (The ’68 Comeback Special) by Elvis Presley, Timepiece by Kenny Rogers, Cincinnati Kid soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin, The Cat and the Hat by Ben Sidran, Masterpieces by The Singers Unlimited, It Only Takes a Minute: A Lifetime with Tavares by Tavares, Frankie Valli…Is the Word by Frankie Valli, With Michel Legrand by Sarah Vaughan, Aquarela do Brasil by Dionne Warwick and Swing When You’re Winning by Robbie Williams and many compilations and collections.

In more recent years he moved to a town in Washington state and formed the Tall & Small Band with his wife, the trombonist Linda Small, which released the Grammy nominated album High On U.

Outside of music he has been a participant in professional drag racing where his cars have won two national championships and many races across America.

Glen Campbell recordings
Hollywood Smiles (Larry Weiss)
Capitol Records 1A 006 86273

Sources:

Christlieb, Pete (16th February 1945-Present)

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