[Dixielandjazz] Who is that masked man?

[LARRY'S Signs and Large Format Printing]

I didn't mean to be secretive.  My name is Larry Walton and I am 65. I live in St. Louis.   I play all the saxes and until I had an accident last year that caused some nerve damage I played all the clarinets, guitar and Banjo.  I now play soprano sax.  I belong to Local 2-197 AFM.  I will play with or for anyone who has money and I try to hire the best in town for my gigs.  Dixieland is my fun and passion.  I read and improvise and know a lot of tunes.  I do my own Dixie arrangements although I wish I was better at it.

I have been a professional musician since I was 15. I got married at age 18,  I got a 4 year everything paid music scholarship to SEMO University and I earned a BS in music ed.  My major instrument was the Oboe.  I served 42 (trying out at age 17) years in the 571st MOANG band. They featured Concert Band, Big Band and Jazz protocol combo. Near the end of my career they tried a Dixie band.   I played all the saxes, oboe, clarinet and bass clarinet and for a short time banjo.  I have played in about 20 states including Alaska and Hawaii and at ground zero in the Pentagon and in Ecuador as well as tours with the AF band stationed at Scott AFB.  I retired as a Sr. Master Sgt.  I have played with the Jimmy Dorsey band on the Mississippi Queen and with the Jan Garber band on the American Queen as well as other big bands when they come through town.  I play lead tenor in several big bands here and second tenor with the Gary Dammer Big Band which is the best one.  I play regularly with the Michael Brooks band ( Route 66 ) that is a six piece group with three singers.  He also has a big band that I play Bari or sometimes tenor in. His Dixie group is called "Ain't Just Whistle'n Dixie".  I have several groups depending on the gig.  Razzamatazz - a big Dixieland (or at least as big as they will pay for)  Doo Wah Ditty City is a 50's group and Larry Walton and friends are a computer backed duo/trio. My band plays fairly often for one of the local country clubs. During the day we play for several Sr. Citizen homes.  I work them usually with a trumpet player and my computer.  I have a library of about 600 tunes in my computer.  It pays really well considering it's only an hour gig.  My friends and I don't really like the computer as well as live musicians but it is a gig that pays well.  The computer lets me, as a sax player, do singles and duos.  It's an area that I was never able to exploit before and the tips are great.  Computers are getting better and the music programs are improving on a daily basis almost.

I taught instrumental music at Missouri School for the Blind.  My most notable students are Tony Simmons and Joe McBride who pops up on the Jazz stations here from time to time and has a bunch of CD's out.  I now teach band (1 of three directors) at Lutheran High School North in St. Louis part time.  I also play with a community band and the Scottish Rite Brass.  The SRBrass plays  a lot of Dixie too. 

I started a sign business about 12 years ago.  I produce most of the artwork and films for 18 wheel truck mudflaps (several thousand truck lines) in the country (some South America too) as well as supermarket parking lot signs for many of the Majors - Kmart, Walmart, Home Depot, Acme.  My work is printed by others.  The mud flaps are printed in Canada and I subcontract the parking lot signs through a major supplier of shopping carts.

By the way Michael Brooks  owns EMBEE ideas that makes most of the poly music stands sold.  Maybe even to some of you.  Look him up in the musicians union magazine where he advertises as well as several other publications.  If you want to see what I look like and hear his band Go to his web site www.michaelbrooks.com  I'm the short guy with the Silver 1923 Buescher tenor. those are some of his stands.  He does a great job with the artwork and sells them to all the majors and a lot of schools.

And I wear size 9 1/2 shoes.

You all now know more than you wanted to know about me and I know nothing about any of you.

Larry