Karl Denson
has a very sound reason for abruptly canceling the six shows he was
scheduled to perform between Friday and October 25 with his funk-jazz
band Tiny Universe, including an Oct. 24 date at the North Park Theatre.
The
veteran San Diego saxophonist has just been selected to tour with the
biggest band in the universe, the Rolling Stones, who have hired Denson
to perform nine concerts in Australia and New Zealand.
He flies out Friday to begin rehearsing down under with the Stones. His
first date with the band will be Oct. 25 stadium date in Adelaide,
Australia.
Denson is no
stranger to big-name gigs. He embarks on annual amphitheater tours as a
member of San Diego jam band Slightly Stoopid and has also worked with
Lenny Kravitz, the Allman Brothers Band, Steve Winwood and such jazz
greats as guitarist John Scofield, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack
DeJohnette.
But doing a
Rolling Stones' stadium tour with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie
Watts, Ron Wood and the band's elite touring lineup will take him into a
rarefied performing world that few musicians get to experience. He'll
be joining a sax section that includes longtime band collaborator Bobby
Keys and Tim Ries, who has been on board for tours by the Stones since
the 1990s.
"This is way
beyond my wildest dreams, for sure!" Denson, 57, said Monday, speaking
from his Scripps Ranch home. "I wouldn’t have even put it on my bucket
list, because I would have considered it ludicrous (to contemplate)."
Denson
is the co-founder of the San Diego band Greyboy Allstars. His upcoming
tour with the Stones is the result of a recommendation from Lenny
Kravtiz, with whom he toured and recorded in the late 1980s and early
1990s, and again in 2008.
Kravitz
phoned Denson several times on Oct. 2, while the saxophonist was
rehearsing at home with fellow Slightly Stoopid saxophonist DeLa. Since
Kravitz was calling from a blocked number, Denson didn't know who the
missed calls were from, let alone why Kravitz was contacting him.
"When
he called a fourth time, I answered," Denson said. "Lenny told me he
had received a call, and that: 'Somebody needs a sax player to go on
road.' My initial response was: 'I don't think I'm the right guy. I just
finished my summer tour (With Slightly Stoopid) and I'm doing weekend
warrior stuff for the rest of the year, so I can be home with my
family.'
"Then, Lenny said: 'I think you'll want to take this,' and that it was the Stones and he'd recommended me.
After
that, I sent out some of my music to them. They got it, liked it took
it committee (for a band vote). A week later, I was on a Skype
conference with Mick. That was this past Thursday; it all transpired
pretty quickly."
Asked
what it was like talking music and business with Jagger, Denson replied:
"You know, it was pretty mellow. He'd already decided to hire me and
asked me about what I'd been doing. He said: 'You were with Lenny from
this time to that time?' I said: 'Yeah. I left to do my own thing.' Then
he said: 'Have you been doing your own stuff since then?' I said:
'Yes.'
