I was thirteen when I first picked up the saxophone, right after my family moved from Staten Island, NY to Orlando, Florida. I’d fallen in love with the sound years earlier when a jazz band visited my elementary school, and it never left me. I joined my high school band as a total beginner and ended up playing baritone sax in the marching band because no one else wanted to carry it in the Florida heat. The Bari was bigger than my thirteen-year-old body, but I didn’t care. I was having way too much fun!

2. Who was/is your biggest musical inspiration?

That’s a tough one, because I’ve been inspired by so many people over the years. But if I really have to narrow it down, it starts with Billy Joel. His songs, his lyrics, his stage presence… that was the first time I ever thought, “Yeah, I want to do that!” He was just so good and so unapologetically New York.

At the time, I was really homesick for my big Italian family and Staten Island. Listening to Turnstiles and The Stranger made me feel connected to where I came from, even though it was far away.

Then there was Phil Woods. His sax solo on Just the Way You Are gave me goosebumps and made me want to seriously get better on the sax. I remember thinking, “What notes are those, and how is he even doing that?” That solo pretty much opened the door to jazz for me.

From there, the inspiration just kept growing. Artists like David Sanborn, Mindi Abair, and Sting all left their mark, along with my teachers Ed Smith and Jim Burge, who taught me not just how to play, but how to relax and enjoy the process. Taking master classes with Bob Reynolds, Bob Franceschini, Bob Hemenger, Russ Paladino, and Victor Wooten was also a huge game changer for me. And honestly, I’m still getting inspired by new people all the time.

3. Where do you make your home?

Orlando, Fl.

4. Do you have any pets?

I have two canine kids. Emoji is our seven-year-old Dalmatian, though we call him “Moji” for short. The dropped “E” just rolls off the tongue better when you’re calling him across the yard. I fell in love with Dalmatians as a kid after watching the original animated 101 Dalmatians, so once I finally had a house with a yard, it was basically inevitable.

Then there’s Zeus, our little mixed-breed who’s convinced he’s a Great Dane. We joke that he’s half Jack Daniels and half Wombat, with a face that kind of resembles Yoda… whiskers included. Zeus actually found us one night when he ran in front of our car. He was lost and scared, we opened the door, and he jumped right in. The rest is history.

5. What is the best concert/gig you have ever done?

Honestly, the first gig that will always stand out was the very first time I ever got paid to play sax and sing. It was a small house party a friend hired me for, and I remember thinking, “Wait… I just got paid to have fun, play music, be myself… and they fed me?” That moment flipped a switch for me. There’s nothing quite like the joy of knowing your music genuinely uplifted someone.

Over the years, I’ve been incredibly lucky to share the stage with so many talented musicians. Some wonderful gigs I’ve had include playing with friends and musical brothers like Ron Reinhardt, Dave Reinhardt, Tim George, and other amazing Florida-based artists who continue to inspire me. My “Momentum” release party at Lobster Pot was also a total blast!

More recently, a real high point was playing on stage at Spaghettini in California with Will Donato, Tom Braxton, Blake Aaron, Richard Smith and other Innervision Records artists during their post-NAMM jam. That one was pure electricity!

6. What is the best concert you have ever attended?

I would say in the contemporary jazz realm it would be David Sanborn at the Blue Note in NYC! I was literally about four feet from the stage. Four feet from him. My mind was completely blown. It was surreal, trying to stay in the moment and just enjoy the music, while also watching him like a hawk, studying his tone, his phrasing, his technique. Fan mode and sax-player brain were battling it out the entire night, and I loved every second of it.

Also right up there on the Pop side of things was getting to see Billy Joel’s 99th concert at Madison Square Garden during his historic ten-year residency in 2024! What an amazing night that was. I love being able to say I was there for that. It is part of History!

Seeing Sting and Annie Lennox together in concert was also fantastic, and every Mindi Abair concert I’ve been too leaves me on a musical high.

7. Do you have an all-time favourite song or album?

That one really depends on my mood. You know how when you’re hungry, sometimes you’re craving Chinese, sometimes Italian, sometimes Greek? That’s exactly how music works for me. It all depends on what I’m musically hungry for at the moment. Some days it’s pop, other days jazz, classical, rock, or R&B. It’s always changing.

That said, a few favorites always rise to the top. When I’m in a singer-songwriter mood, anything by Billy Joel, especially his deeper cuts that never became hits. On an emotional level, Phil Woods’ iconic sax solo on Just the Way You Are will probably always be my all-time favorite. Eric Marienthal’s One Touch, especially “No Doubt About It,” still blows me away, his ability to live up in the altissimo on that tune is incredible. I also keep coming back to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John, Take Five by Dave Brubeck, and “Flirt” by Mindi Abair. Different flavors, different moods… all satisfying in their own way.

8. What musician would you still most like to work with?

There are so many…but definitely Billy Joel! ….Mindi Abair, Dave Koz, Sting, Mark Rivera, Richie Cannata, John Mayer, Elton John, Ilya Serov, Richard Elliot, Teddy Swims, Annie Lennox… I’m a vocalist as well…so it would be so cool to sing with some of these artists too! The list goes on and on….

9. If you weren't a musician what would you be?

That’s a great question, and one I still think about sometimes. Before the music bug really bit me, I was drawn to the visual arts. I loved drawing and painting, and I was completely obsessed with Marvel Comics. For a long time as a kid, I wanted to be a Comic Book artist that drew for Marvel.

10. What is your favourite thing about Vancouver?

I don’t know because I haven’t been there yet!

It is someplace I seriously have always wanted to visit. The Pacific Northwest looks so beautiful.

I’d love to come out that way soon and take it all in. Maybe even do a gig or two. It’s on the “Must-Do-List!”

~Vickie Van Dyke

Middays