Featuring Rob Verdi

Saxophobia offers students and audiences a rare glimpse at some of the most unusual saxophones ever made and pays tribute to a handful of great jazz legends who contributed to the development of jazz and the popularity of the sax.  Saxophobia explores a repertoire of over 50 years of jazz styles including music of Rudy Weideoft, Frankie Trumbauer, Adrian Rollini, Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, John Coltrane and others.  The show utilizes approximately 10 different saxophones including a tiny curved sopranino sax, straight tenor, C melody, connosax, slide sax, Grafton plastic alto, bass, and 6 1/2 ft tall contrabass.

Rob Verdi, a professional saxophonist and musical instrument collector from the Los Angeles area,  currently I performs at the Disneyland Resort and also presents formal concerts and school outreach programs with a couple musical ensembles called Saxophobia and The Side Street Strutters Jazz Band.  For the past two years he has actively participated in the WY state arts conference which included a showcase performance resulting in invitations for Rob to share his saxophones at school programs and formal concerts in Cody, Thermopolis, Lander, Kemmerer, Big Pine, and Evanston.  This year’s conference will be hosted in Jackson October 12-14 and Rob was selected to once again perform a 12 minute showcase for arts presenters from throughout the state.

The Jackson Hole Community Band is excited to participate in Rob’s SAXsational Showcase this weekend performing Gabriel’s Oboe and a medley of songs including Tequila, Pink Panther and Yakety Sax.

During Rob’s visit to Jackson He the JHCB is  sponsoring today’s  special presentation of SAXsational to the 6th grade music students at Jackson Hole Middle School with Robin Closson.

For more information visit: saxophobia.net