Sax Magic - Dennis Winge

We recently had the pleasure of hosting a private party with The Way Band, and it was the client’s request to include a saxophone. We have done this before, and have even done weddings with the 6-piece version of the group with sax, keyboards, and trumpet, but we most of the time do smaller events and weddings as a trio that it had been a while to include a fourth member, and it was so much fun for the band and the guests!

Initially I thought it was a bit of an unusual request on the part of the host to include saxophone because it was a party for her and the neighbors, as she had fairly recently relocated to a rural town and wanted to get to know them better, and she had reported that they liked country music whereas she had a more ecclectic taste in music.

The Way Band doesn’t plan its set lists because I always prefer to adapt the song choices to the exact vibe of the party, which no amount of pre-conversation can ever paint an exact picture. Besides, the energy-level and overall vibe can change from moment to moment, and having a pre-ordained set list can sometimes make bands oblivious to these changing needs of an event. No matter how good the music is a wedding, private party or corporate event, the music is still secondary to the needs of the event itself, which must come first every time.

As a bandleader, I always book the best musicians and I am grateful to have a roster of super-talented professionals who I can count on to join us, sometimes with little or no rehearsal. I also pride myself on having charts of the music written in advance. I have been doing this for 30 years and the books are quite big. It’s this combination of having the best musicians and being well-prepared with sheet music that allows The Way Band to suit the unique needs and preferences of each client, which helps ensure that each event receives a tailor-made musical experience.

The saxophone player seamlessly integrated into The Way Band, elevating the musical journey to new heights. From the first few notes of the Dire Straits “Walk of Life” which was the first tune we played, I knew it was going to be fun. You can hear this and several other clips in the video montage I made of the event.

As usual, we circulated a list of our huge repertoire on a clipboard so that guests could circle their favorites. They did request a lot of country, which the sax had no problem fitting in perfectly on. I particularly enjoyed “comping” for (accompanying) the sax on his solos. This is a luxury I don’t often get in trio playing, where I am responsible for most of the lead vocals and pretty much all the solos, which I love as well of course, but it was fun to just relax and enjoy some great sax playing in the appropriate sections.One of the most memorable moments was at the end of the night when someone asked the sax player to play the theme from Sanford & Sons, which he did so well that they asked him to play it several more times so they could film it & post it on social media. One guy asked if he could play it in front of his classic car! The band was joking that the subsequent posts would make playing that theme his trademark wherever he went from now on.I was grateful that the host of the party had a wonderful event and she even called me to ask if we could do another one in the Fall. Here is her review:”Great Music, Great Personalities! Dennis and the rest of the band were truly awesome! Easy to work with and they played a great variety of music and were very gracious in playing all the requests made by my guests. Thank you!!”

That, to us, is “The Way” to play a party: accommodate the host, interact with the guests, pick the perfect songs that match the constantly changing vibe of the event, and to have a blast!

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If you are planning an event you want to explore your options for live music, book a free music consultation with me or simply write to me on the contact page.