Karl Denson (born December 27, 1956) is an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

ist from

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

. He plays with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, and leads his own group, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe (KDTU). He co-founded

The Greyboy Allstars The Greyboy Allstars are an American soul-jazz band from San Diego, California, United States, whose current members include Karl Denson on Saxophone, Robert Walter on Keys, Mike Andrews (under the pseudonym Elgin Park) on guitar, Chris Stillw ...

(GBA), and continues to tour with both KDTU and GBA as well as

. Formerly, Denson was a member of Lenny Kravitz's band and he has recorded with artists including

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to: *Dave Holland (bassist) David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...

Slightly Stoopid Slightly Stoopid is an American Rock music, rock band based in the Ocean Beach, San Diego, Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of folk, rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, m ...

Blind Boys of Alabama Blind often refers to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (1987 film), a documentary by Frederick Wiseman about th ...

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful pr ...

Stanton Moore Stanton Moore (born July 9, 1972) is an American funk, jazz, and rock drummer from New Orleans. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also pursued a solo recording career (beginning with his 1998 debut '' All Kooked Out ...

, and

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician who is the lead singer, guitarist, primary songwriter, and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. As a solo act, Foreman has released 14 extended plays and two st ...

of the band

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock music, rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drum kit, drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (g ...

. Denson appears in the 1988 movie ''

Coming To America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, and starring Murphy (in various roles), Arsenio ...

'' and in the 2021 sequel Coming 2 America as the saxophonist in the fictional band Sexual Chocolate. Current members of KDTU include Denson (saxophone, flute, vocals, percussion), Ricio Fruge (trumpet, percussion), Ricky Giordano (guitar), Rashon Murph (keyboards), Parker McAllister (bass), Alfred Jordan (drums), and Danielle Barker (vocals).

Selected discography

* '' Let Love Rule'' (Lenny Kravitz album) - (1989) * '' Mama Said'' (Lenny Kravitz album) - (1991) * ''Blackened Red Snapper'' (solo album) - (1992) * ''

Herbal Turkey Breast ''Herbal Turkey Breast'' is an album by the American saxophonist Karl Denson, released in 1993. It is an album of acoustic jazz. Critical reception AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online data ...

'' (solo album) - (1993) * ''Chunky Pecan Pie'' (solo album) - (1994) * ''West Coast Boogaloo'' (

) - (1994) * ''Baby Food'' (solo album) - (1995) * ''A Town Called Earth'' (The Greyboy Allstars) - (1997) * ''The D Stands for Diesel'' (solo album) - (1997) * ''GBA Live'' (The Greyboy Allstars) - (1999) * ''Dance Lesson #2'' (solo album) - (2001) * ''The Bridge'' (Karl Denson's Tiny Universe) - (2002) * ''

Flyin' the Koop ''Flyin' the Koop'' is the second solo album by New Orleans drummer Stanton Moore. The album includes funk, rock and jazz. Moore's line-up for ''Flyin' the Koop'' is in part a combination of musicians with whom he played at a "SuperJam" at Tipi ...

'' (

) - (2002) * Uberjam (John Scofield) - (2002) * ''About Time'' (

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

) - (2003) * ''Once You're There'' P(Karl Denson's Tiny Universe) - (2006) * ''What Happened to Television?'' (

) - (2007) * ''Lunar Orbit'' (Karl Denson Trio) - (2007) * ''Brother's Keeper'' (Karl Denson's Tiny Universe) - (2009) * ''Top of the World'' (

) - (2012) * ''Inland Emperor'' (The Greyboy Allstars) - (2013) * ''Time To Do Your Thing'' (Z-Bonics) - (2013) * ''New Ammo'' (Karl Denson's Tiny Universe) - (2014) * ''Sticky Fingers Live'' (

) - (2015) * ''Gnomes and Badgers'' (Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe) - (2019) * ''Como De Allstars'' (

) - (2020)

References

Notes

Interview at JamBase
Retrieved August 26, 2007
Greyboy Allstars at AllAboutJazz
Retrieved August 26, 2007
KD3 bio at JamBase
* Karl Denson at allmusic.comRetrieved January 29, 2009
Interview with TheWaster.com
Retrieved February 10, 2014

External links

Karl Denson websiteKarl Denson Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2017) American jazz flautists American jazz saxophonists American funk saxophonists American male saxophonists African-American jazz musicians Jam bands Jazz musicians from California People from Santa Ana, California Living people 1956 births 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Greyboy Allstars members 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century American flautists {{flautist-stub