Louis Eugene Marini Jr. (born May 13, 1945), known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in

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 ...

, rock,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, as well as his association with The Blues Brothers.

Early life

Marini was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. His parents were Italian immigrants from the region of

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

. He graduated from Fairless High School in

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, Ohio. His father, Lou Marini Sr., was the high school's band director and wrote the school song. Fairless bestows the annual Lou Marini Award in honor of Marini Sr. who died in May 2008. Both Lou Marini Sr. and Lou Marini Jr. were inducted into the Fairless Alumni Association Hall of Honor in May 2010. In June 2010, Marini Jr. was named artistic director at the first Brianza Blues Festival, in Villa Reale (

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

, Italy). Marini attended North Texas State University College of Music (now known as the University of North Texas College of Music), where he played in the One O'Clock Lab Band. From 1972 to 1974 he played in

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...

. From 1975 to 1983, he was a member of the ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' house band. He was a member of The Blues Brothers band, appearing in '' The Blues Brothers'' movie and its sequel, '' Blues Brothers 2000'', playing the part of "Blue Lou", a moniker given by

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

. He played on

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's 1977 album '' Zappa in New York'', on Cindy Bullens' 1978 album '' Desire Wire'', and has worked with

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

, Deodato,

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

, the

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

Big Band, and the

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American 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 roo ...

Orchestra.

Solo work

Marini has spent most of his professional life working as a sideman and arranger. In 1986, he recorded a mournful, melancholy solo sax for the soundtrack of HBO's 1987 animated adaptation of Bernard Waber's children's book ''The House on East 88th St.'' which was released under the title ''Lyle, Lyle Crocodile''. In 2004, he recorded his first recording as a bandleader, with

Ray Reach Raymond Everett Reach, Jr. (born August 3, 1948) is an Americans, American pianist, vocalist, guitarist, composer, arranger, music producer, and educator, who was convicted in the State of Alabama on child pornography charges. Reach has performe ...

and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra, titled '' Lou's Blues'' (2004). This album features his arrangements and compositions, many of which have become favorites for the Lab Bands at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

. The liner notes of the album were written by Grammy Award-winning composer, arranger, and producer Bob Belden. On March 23, 2010, he released ''Blue Lou and Misha Project - Highly Classified'', a collaboration with Misha Segal, an Israeli pianist and composer.

Compositions and arrangements

Marini's work as an arranger and composer has been influenced by

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombone, valve trombonist, Jazz piano, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public ...

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

, and

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his ...

, as well as rock, pop, and avant-garde music. For example, his song, "Hip Pickles," written for Blood, Sweat and Tears, is described by reviewer Jack Bowers of ''AllAboutJazz.com'', as follows: "Marini's unorthodox notions surface on 'Hip Pickles,' whose free' intro gives way to a melody played by screaming trumpets and Clapton-like guitar, prefacing a stormy interchange between Marini (alto) and Tom Wolfe n guitar"

Discography

Solo

* '' Lou's Blues'' 2001 * ''Highly Classified'' 2010 * ''Starmaker'' 2012

As guest

With The Blues Brothers * '' Briefcase Full of Blues'' 1978 * '' The Blues Brothers: Music from the Soundtrack'' 1980 * '' Made in America'' 1980 * '' Best of The Blues Brothers'' 1981 * '' Dancin' wid da Blues Brothers'' 1983 * ''

The Blues Brothers Band Live in Montreux ''The Blues Brothers Band Live in Montreux'' is an album by The Blues Brothers band. It was released in 1990 on the heels of the band's reunion tour and it was the first album recorded by the band after the death of founding member John Belus ...

'' 1990 * '' Red, White & Blues'' 1992 * '' The Very Best of The Blues Brothers'' 1995 * '' Blues Brothers & Friends: Live from Chicago's House of Blues'' 1997 * '' Blues Brothers 2000'' 1998 With

* '' Naughty Baby'' 1989 * '' Baby I'm Yours'' 1992 * '' Out of This World'' 1996 * ''Music Never Ends'' 1997 With

John Tropea John Tropea (pronounced 'tro-pay'; born January 7, 1946) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. Career Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. His musical education continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jaz ...

* ''Short Trip to Space'' 1977 * ''To Touch You Again'' 1979 * ''NYC Cats Direct'' 1985 * ''The Chick Corea Songbook'' 2009 With

* '' Zappa in New York'' 1978 * '' You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6'' 1992 * ''

Läther ''Läther'' (, or "''Leather''") is the sixty-fifth official album by Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explaine ...

'' 1996 * '' Have I Offended Someone?'' 1997 With others *

– '' Night in the Ruts'' 1979 * Larry Applewhite – ''Larry Applewhite'' 1979 * Jesse Austin – ''Baby's Back'' 1995 *

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

– '' Havana Candy'' 1977 * Carolyn Blackwell ''Sings Bernstein'' 1996 *

– '' New Blood'' (1972) * Blood, Sweat & Tears – '' No Sweat'' (1973) * Boyzz – ''Too Wild to Tame'' 1978 *

Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsylva ...

– '' Don't Stop the Music'' 1980 *

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

– '' Off to See the Lizard'' 1989 * Cindy Bullens – '' Desire Wire'' 1978 * Ann Hampton Callaway – ''Bring Back Romance'' 1994 * Cameo – '' Feel Me'' 1980 *

Dina Carroll Geraldine "Dina" Carroll (born 21 August 1968) is an English singer. She had a string of hits during the 1990s, including the UK top ten singles "It's Too Late (Carole King song)#Quartz version, It's Too Late" (1991), "Don't Be a Stranger (Din ...

– '' So Close'' 1993 *

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

- '' The Music Never Stops'' 2019 * Closer Than Ever – ''Closer Than Ever'' 1990 * Freddy Cole – ''It's Crazy, But I'm In Love''1996 *

Hank Crawford Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for ...

– '' Groove Master'' 1990 * Hank Crawford – ''South Central'' 1992 * Deodato – ''Night Cruiser'' 1980 * Manu Dibango – ''Gone Clear'' 1980 * Manu Dibango – ''Ambassador'' 1981 * Amy Drinkwater – ''With All My Heart – A Journey to the Soul'' 2005 *

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz fusion and Rhythm and blues, R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on ''L ...

– ''Coast to Coast'' 1988 * Eric Essix – ''SuperBlue'' 2006 *

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker ...

– '' Kamakiriad'' 1993 * Family Thing – ''Family Thing'' 1996 *

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock music, rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets (band), Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harriso ...

– '' The Inside Story'' 1979 *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

– '' Get It Right'' (1983) * Michael Franks – '' Tiger in the Rain'' 1979 *

The J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band (formerly known as The J. Geils Blues Band) was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, h ...

– '' Freeze Frame'' 1981 * The J. Geils Band – ''Houseparty: Anthology'' 1992 * Michael Gibbs – ''Big Music'' 1988 *

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...

– '' Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars'' 1977 * Levon Helm – ''

'' 1978 *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

– ''Live On Broadway'' 1981 *

Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer. She has recorded twelve albums over the course of her career, mostly playing jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. In 1971, she was the first female instrume ...

– ''Good Life'' 1979 * Denise Jannah – ''I Was Born In Love With You'' 1995 *

Garland Jeffreys Garland Jeffreys (born June 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter in rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul music. Career Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. He majored in art histo ...

– '' Guts for Love'' 1983 * Eddie King – ''Another Cow's Dead'' 1997 * D.C. LaRue – ''Laso'' 1977 * D. C. Larue – ''Ten Dance'' 1977 * Fred Lipsius - ''Better Believe It'' (mja Records, 1996) * Love & Money – '' Strange Kind of Love'' 1988 *

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek language, Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

– ''Worldwide Attraction'' 1979 * Mike Mandel – ''Sky Music'' 1978 *

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

– ''Dead Ringer'' 1981 * Elliott Murphy – ''Night Lights'' 1976 *

Walter Murphy Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. (born December 19, 1952) is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental " A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which topp ...

– ''A Fifth of Beethoven'' 1976 *

Milton Nascimento Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Nascimento has recorded 32 studio albums and has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music ...

– ''Angelus'' (flute) 1994 * Claude Nougaro – ''Nougayork'' 1987 *

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968) and ''Ne ...

– '' Walk the Dog and Light the Light'' 1993 *

Linda Clifford Linda Clifford (born June 14, 1948) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water (song), Bridge over ...

– ''I'll Keep on Loving You'' 1982 * Jill O'Hara – ''Jill O'Hara'' 1993 * One O'clock Lab Band – ''Best of One O'clock'' 1992 *

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

– ''Unfinished Masterpiece'' 1990 * Tom Pierson – ''Planet of Tears'' 1996 * Andy Pratt – ''Shiver in the Night'' 1977 * Raw Stylus – ''Pushing Against the Flow'' 1995 *

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

– '' Sally Can't Dance'' 1974 * Repercussions – ''Earth and Heaven'' 1995 * Jess Band Roden – ''Player Not the Game'' 1977 *

Joe Roccisano Joseph Lucian Roccisano (October 15, 1939 in Springfield, Massachusetts – November 9, 1997) was an American jazz saxophonist and arranger. Career Roccisano received his bachelor's degree in music education from SUNY-Potsdam in 1963. In 1964 he ...

– ''Shape I'm In'' 1993 * Joe Roccisano – '' Leave Your Mind Behind'' 1995 *

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...

– ''Towering Toccata'' 1976 *

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

– '' A Song'' 1977 *

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

– '' Hello Big Man'' 1983 * Ray Simpson – ''Ray Simpson'' 1992 *

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...

– ''Something Real'' 1989 *

Spyro Gyra Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from ''Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenste ...

– ''City Kids'' 1983 *

Marvin Stamm Marvin Louis Stamm (born May 23, 1939) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Stamm was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Stamm began on trumpet at age twelve. He attended North Texas State University, where he was a member of the One ...

– ''Stampede'' 1983 *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

– '' Ringo's Rotogravure'' 1976 *

– ''Two Against Nature'' 2000 *

Sunshine Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically per ...

– ''Sunshine'' (1972) * T. Life – ''That's Life'' 1978 *

Kate Taylor Kate Taylor (born August 15, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the younger (and only) sister of singer-songwriter James Taylor. Biography Taylor was born in Boston and grew up with her four ...

– ''Kate Taylor'' 1978 * B.J. Thomas – ''Songs'' 1973 * B.J. Thomas – ''Longhorn & London Bridges'' 1974 * Harvey Thomas Young – ''Highways of Gold'' 1995 *

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...

– ''Mystic Man'' 1979 * Peter Tosh – ''Wanted Dread & Alive'' 1981 *

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

– ''Forever, For Always, For Love'' 1982 * Thijs Van leer – ''Nice to Have Met You'' 1978 *

– ''Dionne Warwick Sings Cole Porter'' 1990*

References

External links

Official website

Official website of Ray Reach

''Lou's Blues - Lou Marini and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra''
reviewed at ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

''
Article - Lou Marini : "Blue Lou" Blows On
from ''One Final Note'' Jazz Webzine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marini, Lou 1945 births Living people American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American music arrangers Blood, Sweat & Tears members Record producers from South Carolina Rhythm and blues saxophonists Saturday Night Live Band members The Blues Brothers members University of North Texas College of Music alumni People from Navarre, Ohio 21st-century American saxophonists American people of Italian descent