Carmen Leggio

Carmen Leggio (c. 1927 – 2009) was an American jazz musician. He played tenor saxophone.

Leggio was born in Tarrytown, New York and died there on April 17, 2009. In his final years, he performed in various clubs and restaurants throughout Westchester, like the Red Hat Bistro in Irvington.^[1] In 2006 he recorded Three Legends Live At The Division Street Grill with Bucky Pizzarelli and Bill Crow at one of these dates. On April 17, 2009, he suffered a heart attack in front of his home in Tarrytown, and died later that day.

From Leggio's interview:^[2]

"I quit high school, because I knew I was meant to be a musician," he said. "But my father was so angry that he didn't speak to me for years. On his deathbed, he admitted I was right to leave school."

That admission came after Leggio had played with Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Maynard Ferguson, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Lewis and Thad Jones and Doc Severinson. There have also been television shows, movies, the Newport Jazz Festival, Birdland and, yes, Carnegie Hall.

Carmen Leggio was very particular of his saxophone.^[2] He was playing the same instrument since 1961, a Gold Medal SML made in France by Strasser, Marigaux & Lemaire.^[3] And the same mouthpiece, a Selmer D:

"I don't know much about horns and mouthpieces. A friend of mine got me to the right sax and set-up and I just stayed with it because it worked for me. A sax is like a pair of shoes. If you get a pair that are comfortable, you can learn how to do any kind of dance in them."

Select discography

• A Sax For Christmas (2007, Leggio Records)
• Sax After Midnight (1996, The Good Music Record Company)

With Bill Crow and Bucky Pizzarelli

• Three Legends Live At The Division Street Grill (2006, Leggio Records)

With Donnie O'Brien

• Donnie O´Brien Meets Manhattan Swing: In a Basie Mood (2004, Arbors Records)

With Bill Crow

• From Birdland to Broadway: The Bill Crow Quartet (1996, Venus Records)
• Jazz Anecdotes: The Bill Crow Quartet (1997, Venus Records)

References