Tony Saunders (bassist)


Tony Saunders is an American bass player and synthesizer player in the genres of jazz, gospel, R&B, Pop and world music. He is a composer, arranger, music producer, and head of his own studio.

Biography

Saunders comes from a musical family. His world-famous keyboardist father, Merl Saunders, got him started at an early age. He began singing at the age of five and played piano from age eight. Herbie Hancock and Sly Stone were among Saunders’ early teachers. Sly gave Saunders an organ at the age of ten. At age fourteen he began playing the bass. While growing up there were always great musicians around Dad and his cousin Eddie Moore, Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine, Sonny Rollins, Dewey Redmen, George Duke, Al Jarreau, Bole Sete, John Handy were all there For Tony to Listen to.
In 1969, Tony's Dad, Merl Saunders, was the Musical Director for the Joseph Dolan Tuotti musical Big Time Buck White Tony was first hired as a staff producer for San Francisco Records having previously worked for the Label President Ron Umile when he was at Associated Booking in NY. Umile hire Tony To work with Martha Reeves, Randy Crawford, and others. Tony's first solo CD "Bigger than Outside" was released in October 2011. It remained on the charts for 70 weeks. His Second CD "Appaloosa" was released January 22, 2014. It features Grammy winners Howard Hewett, Bill Champlin and Tony Lindsay on vocals. That CD has 7 instrumentals and 6 vocal songs. Tom Politzer from Tower of Power, Rock Hendricks from Paul Hardcastle's Jazz master series also grace the CD with their Sax playing. Longtime friends of Tony's, Fred Ross and Sakai, background singer with Train, also sing their hearts out on the duet "The Question Is". The third CD for San Francisco Records was called Uptown Jazz It featured Gabrial Mark Hasselbach, Rock Hendricks, Sakai, Paul Harcastle Jr., and Gerald Albright. Tony's latest single "Rock Steady" is the Whispers' '80s hit. This was produced in Atlanta By Magic Mendez. Harmony Blackwell and Magic did the vocals with Magic laying all the music tracks himself. Nils and Tony Played the lead lines to the song the was written by Babyface. This chart-topping song reached #1 on many stations throughout the world. His new CD Titled "SEXY SOMETHIN" is slated to be released 2/21/20 on San Francisco Records. It features Jeff Lorber, Marion Meadows, Paul Brown, Nils, Gail Jhonson, Jeff Ryan, Ray Chew, and Paul Jackson Jr.
Saunders has been influenced by Gospel music since he was a young child. He studied under choir director Leon Patillo. Saunders met the Hawkins family when he was 14, and credits them with not only inspiring him to play bass but also with giving spiritual guidance to his life. He played with Walter Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins and the Love Center Choir in the 80's, and released He Lifted Me Up, his first gospel project, in 2005. Among the other Gospel artists Saunders has played with are Andrae Crouch, the Clark Sisters, the late Reverend James Moore, Daryl Coley, James Cleveland and the Williams Brothers, The Mighty Clouds Of Joy and Shirley Ceaser. I completed a Gospel project that featured Derrick Hughes, Alfreda Lyons-Campbell, and Saunders' longtime friend, gospel bassist/drummer Joel Smith.
Saunders Has also had the pleasure of playing with His Dad with Jerry Garcia, Buffy St Marie, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, David Soul, Max Gail jr. Stevie Wonder, Bob Weir, Bill Kruetzman, Brent Myland, Vince Welnick, John Cippolina, Paul Butterfield, Nick Gravinites and Sly Stone.
Saunders has worked with and performed on behalf of several charitable and social issue-oriented organizations including Bread And Roses, the Seva Foundation, the Rex Foundation, Rock for Hope, the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic, and the Rainforest Action Network.
Bands and people Tony Saunders has played with include Tony Saunders Romancing The Bass, The Rainforst Band, Les McCann, George Howard, Ellis-Liebman Band, Ringo, Esther Phillips, Chaka Kahn, Harvey Mason, Eric Clapton, Joe Louis Walker, Keystone Revisited, Merl Saunders & the Rainforest Band, Band of Gypsies with Buddy Miles, Mitch Mitchell, Randy Hansen, Zero, Robert Winters & Fall, David Crosby, Tony Saunders & Paradize, and M.R.L.S. A re-launch of the Rainforest Band as a tribute to Merl Saunders took place at the 29th Starwood Festival on July 25, 2009, the site of their last performance, featuring Tony Saunders, guitarist Michael Hinton, and other members of the Merl Saunders Rainforest Band and other Saunders’ projects. Also appearing were Sikiru Adepoju on talking drum and Douglas "Val" Serrant on steel drum and djembe.

Awards and honors

Saunders has received two Emmy awards. He also won the New York Film Festival's Grand and Silver Award for educational compositions.

Discography