User:Mkazanoff/sandbox

THE TEXAS HORNS is a 3 piece horn section based in Texas. Begun by Austinite Mark 'Kaz' Kazanoff in 1999, the group has featured group's leader Kaz on tenor saxophone, harmonica and vocals; and John Mills, also from Austin, on baritone saxophone. The first trumpet player for The Texas Horns was Gary Slechta. He retired in 2006 and was replaced by San Antonio's Adalberto 'Al' Gomez. The Texas Horns have performed as a house horn section at many Festivals in the United States and Canada, including The Ottawa Blues Festival, The Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland OR, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The San Francisco Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Festival, and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. As featured performers on these Festivals, The Texas Horns have regularly appeared on stage with a who's who list of blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and indie artists, including Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers, Jimmie Vaughan, Marcia Ball, WC Clark, Vintage Trouble, Angela Strehli, and hundreds more artists. Though The Texas Horns are excellent music readers, their most notable musical contributions often have been improvised live performances, jumping up on stage often with little preparation but great results. The Texas Horns also have been very active as recording artists. Their horn arrangements and performances have been featured on recordings by Marcia Ball, WC Clark, Johnny Nicholas, John Nemeth, Carolyn Wonderland, Bob Margolin, Andy T, Rich Delgrosso, Fiona Boyes, John Del Toro Richardson, Big Joe Maher. "Blues Gotta Holda Me", The Texas Horn's first CD release, in 2015, appeared on the Vizztone Label. This CD features the arranging, songwriting, saxophone, and harmonica of Mark 'Kaz' Kazanoff, the arranging, songwriting, and baritone saxophone of John Mills, and the arranging and trumpet of Al Gomez. Derek O'Brien handled the guitar duties on the CD, and Barry 'Frosty' Smith played drums on all tracks. Nick Connolly and Danny Levin played keyboards, and bass duties were shared by Johnny Bradley, Ronnie James, and Roscoe Beck. Special guests included Marcia Ball, WC Clark, Anson Funderburgh and Johnny Nicholas.