Fred Tipton from Woodstock VT

thefredx@aol.com
Fred is a self-taught artist who takes his cues from the '50's "honkers and screamers" and great horn talents John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan. He was mentored by Burlington, VT's legendary Big Joe Burrell and by R&B piano icon Harry Vann Walls. He started playing in Springfield, MA with the rock group Fat, which opened for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band among others. He toured with the jazz/rock band Real Tears and formed his own experimental jazz band Open Channels. After a 30-year hiatus from the saxophone, during which he failed to find anything more interesting to do, Fred came back to play with the Mill Town Jazz Band, the blues-based Rhythm Junkies and The Joy Scouts. Fred is a musical middle child: his oldest brother was a singer in the doo-wop group The Playboys, which appeared on American Bandstand, and his youngest brother is a guitarist who has toured internationally. In addition to Murphy's Blues, Fred currently plays with the reggae band Saylyn.