Hot Sax Top Ten: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant (#4)

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The rain made it, and it’s been quite heavy. That’s okay, because it promises much more comfortable weather for the first half of the holiday weekend. How about some hot sax to go along with hot weather? Here’s another one in the “tied for second” position, and another obvious choice. #4: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel Can you say, “tour de force”? That applies to just about everything regarding this song. That includes the saxophone work. Given that this song is “all over the place,” from the quiet beginning to the rocking middle, the sax work has to be as well. Enter Richie Cannata, Joel’s sax man, who puts on a freaking show in this song. He’s also playing the clarinet in the “do you remember those days hanging out at the Village Green” portion of the song. Cannata left Joel’s band in 1981 (which paved the way for yesterday’s saxophonist, Michael Brecker, to do work on An Innocent Man). He played with Tommy Shaw and eventually opened his own recording studio. And man, did he ever do sax work that they’ll still be talking about in 100 years in any Italian restaurant you care to find. Scenes From an Italian Restaurant Written by Billy Joel Recorded by Billy Joel From The Stranger, 1977 Saxophonist: Richie Cannata Brenda and Eddie were the popular steadies: