Saul Young/News Sentinel Rocky Wynder pictured at his home on Sunday, Nov 15. The 81-year-old jazz great is releasing his first album.

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At 81, Rocky Wynder is a Knoxville legend. A saxophonist from the smooth, melodic school, he's been a fixture on the scene since the 1950s. Yet, Wynder's new album, "Edwin and Catherine," is also his debut album.

"Donald (Brown) was saying we could use the title 'It's Been a Long Time Coming,'" says Wynder, with a smile.

Born in Pensacola, Fla., Wynder first landed in Knoxville in 1950 when he was touring with the minstrel show Sugarfoot Sam from Alabam' and landed at Knoxville's long defunct Gem Theater. The promoter didn't pay the group and they were stranded. Wynder decided to stay in town and take up a job at Knoxville Dry Goods. He later landed a job at TVA from which he eventually retired.

Yet, he also kept his playing, performing at Knoxville night spots. He was already a music veteran in an era when the saxophone was becoming the star instrument of jazz.

"I was around Stanley Turrentine, John Coltrane a couple of nights," says Wynder. "I got to be good friends with Sonny Stitt. I was a pall bearer for him. But it was Charlie Parker who almost drove me crazy."

Wynder says Parker was playing in Philadelphia one night at a club across the street from where Wynder was performing.

The two met while taking breaks outside the clubs.

"He said to me, 'I heard you over there.' And I said, 'I heard you too!'"

Wynder was amazed by what he had heard Parker play. The two shook hands.

"But I got to thinking after that, I can't play like these cats. I'm a melody man. I just gotta be who I am. I'll just do my own thing."

The thing that Wynder does, got him regular gigs in Knoxville. When renowned jazz composer/pianist Donald Brown arrived to teach at the University of Tennessee, Wynder was one of the first musicians he sought out.

"We just sparked up, me and him and Samarai (drummer Samarai Celestial)," says Wynder.

It was Brown, who produced Wynder's new album, who insisted the saxophonist record a disc of his own.

The album will include some of the cream of Knoxville's jazz community.

"I helped raise about half of 'em," says Wynder.

The players include: Brown and his son Keith Brown on piano, Vance Thompson on trumpet, UT professor Keith Brown and Kenneth Brown on drums, guitarists Mark Boling and Harold Nagge, bassists Rusty Holloway and Taylor Coker, and Dorothy Brown on flute. Atlanta bassist Tommy Sauter also contributes to the disc.

The title of Wynder's album refers to his and his wife's names.

"We will have been married 54 years this Christmas Day," says Wynder. "Back then the bus cost five cents to ride and I didn't have a nickel, so I walked from Vine and Central to College and University to Rogers Memorial Baptist Church to get married!"

Wynder continues to educate young musicians. He is involved with the Literacy Imperative and gives saxophone lessons to children who can't afford them. He says he's thankful to God and his church family for helping him overcome some tough times himself.

Wynder says he's only performing special gigs these days and often recommends younger players for people looking for musicians.

Still, playing for a good audience never gets old.

"I love people," says Wynder. "When I'm playing for somebody it feels like I've known them for years. I love to make them smile and dance."

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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