Instruments Saxophone Children Nick Menza Role Saxophonist | Name Don Menza Years active 1950s-present | |
Born April 22, 1936 (age 88)
Buffalo, New York, United States ( 1936-04-22 ) Occupation(s) Bandleader, saxophonist, arranger, educator, session musician Albums Horn of Plenty, Live at Claudio's, Morning Song Genres Jazz, Big band, Jazz fusion Similar People Nick Menza, Bobby Shew, Peter Magadini, Ack Van Rooyen, Bob Magnusson | ||
Grandchildren Nicholas Sebastian Menza | ||
Henry mancini live the pink panther theme with don menza sax solo
Don Menza (born April 22, 1936) is an American jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer.
Contents
- Henry mancini live the pink panther theme with don menza sax solo
- Don menza lesson on tone cannonball saxophones
- Music career
- Discography
- References
Don menza lesson on tone cannonball saxophones
Music career
Menza was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, where he began playing tenor saxophone when he was 13. He studied with musician John Sedola.
After serving in the U.S. Army, he was part of the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra from 1960–62 and then briefly worked for Stan Kenton recording on the Adventures in Time LP. From 1964–68 he lived in Germany. In the U.S., he became a member of the Buddy Rich band in 1968 and recorded a well-known solo with that band at a live performance in Las Vegas. He lived in California and played with Elvin Jones and Louie Bellson.
Menza composed "Groovin' Hard" and "Time Check", which became favorites of Doc Severinsen and Buddy Rich.. In 2005 Menza was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.
His late son Nick Menza was the drummer for heavy metal band Megadeth.
Discography
With Maynard Ferguson