The Texas Horns debut CD, Get Here Quick, on
Severn Record, is comprised of Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff (tenor sax), John Mills
(baritone sax) and Al Gomez (trumpet), The Texas Horns are one
of the most in-demand horn sections for both recording sessions and on tour
with some of the biggest names in the roots music world. With Get Here Quick
they get a chance to strut their collective stuff on their own album of blues,
soul and roots music, backed by an all-star group of supporting musicians.
Special guests on the CD include singers Curtis Salgado, John Nemeth,
Gary Nicholson, Guy Forsyth and Carolyn Wonderland; as well as guitarists
Ronnie Earl, Anson Funderburgh, Johnny Moeller, Denny Freeman, Derek O’Brien
and Jonn Del Toro Richardson.
“It took us a year to make Get Here Quick,” recalls Mark
Kazanoff, who with his horn-mates arranged all the songs and horns on
the sessions. “I don’t usually like to do record production projects like that.
But this time, we had so many wonderful guest musicians in mind that we knew we
would never be able to get everyone together in one place for a week or two; so
we did the CD bit-by-bit. That also allowed us to use a couple of different
rhythm sections, including both Tommy Taylor and John Bryant on drums. We also
were fortunate to get both Chris Maresh and Russell Jackson on bass. No way to
get all those great players in one place for very long.
“Same with the guitarists, we were so fortunate to have Denny Freeman,
Ronnie Earl, Anson Funderburgh, Jonn Del Toro Richardson, Johnny Moeller, and
Derek O’Brien with us at different stages of the recording process.
“And, of course with our vocal guests, I have to pinch myself that we
have Curtis Salgado singing one of our tunes; same with John Nemeth. We were
very happy to be able to get into the studio with Gary Nicholson for a couple
of his original songs. We also wanted to do something with Carolyn Wonderland,
so we asked her to sing my song, “I’m Doin’ Alright, at Least for Tonight.” We
also were so happy to get to work with Guy Forsyth. He did a beautiful job with
John Mills’ “Guitar Town.”
“We also got to record with some wonderful keyboard players. One of my
biggest musical revelations in the last few years has been getting to work with
Red Young, a truly amazing, world-class keyboardist and singer.
“The final and maybe most important part of this whole project was Stuart
Sullivan. We recorded everything at Stuart’s Wire Recording Studio here in
Austin. At last count, Stuart and I have made 50 recording sessions together
since the ‘80s. Stuart made this whole thing WORK. He is a true ‘analog’ guy,
who went on to master Pro Tools; but what is so special about Stuart is his
musicality and good sense.”
“John Mills and I started The Texas Horns 20
years ago, and we were fortunate to get Al Gomez to join us on trumpet for the
last dozen years or so. John is really an amazing musician; he can play just
about any instrument (I have heard him on all the saxophones, flute, clarinet,
and piano so far!). Plus, he has turned into a wonderful arranger and
songwriter. John can write string parts, arrange orchestral pieces, write film
scores and front a jazz band. But he loves roots music and blues (as you can
tell since he is working with me!). Once Al joined us, the horn section really
took off. Al is a very powerful trumpet player, at ease playing everything from
blues to jazz to Mexican music. Al is also an excellent arranger, and between
the three of us, there isn’t much that would slow us down as a horn section. We
love our role as the House Horn section at the Ottawa Bluesfest, where we get
to work with so many great artists. We are all excellent readers, but sometimes
we have the most fun just jamming and coming up with cool horn parts on the
spot! The three of us have developed a wonderful working relationship over the
years.”