Dear Sax on the Web Friends:

My friends Ernie Kalwa and the Royal City Saxophone Quartet, from Ontario, Canada, have just released their latest CD, “Smiles & Chuckles” — Celebrating the Music of the Six Brown Brothers. This CD is a wonderful tribute to a group that was responsible for the “saxophone craze” of the 1920s, and subsequently, the saxophone’s popularity in American Music.

The Royal City Saxophone Quartet specializes in the Ragtime genre, and this latest CD has really thrilled me with fresh renditions of this music. The extensive liner notes are by Dr. Bruce Vermazen, noted historian on the Six Brown Brothers.

Though RCSQ is a quartet, for the quintet and sextet pieces, they recorded four parts together, then dubbed additional parts as needed. Instruments include soprano, alto, C melody, tenor, baritone, and bass saxophones.

This is a must-have CD for fans of the bass saxophone, Ragtime, and most importantly, the Six Brown Brothers. Available from CBC Records, www.cbcrecords.ca, order number MVCD 1160. Also available from the RCSQ website at www.royalcitysax.com.

I know you will be pleased with this CD… and I am sure the Six Brown Brothers would be, too.