Saxophonist Elliot Goes Solo Sincerely

In a day when there is a profusion of up-and-coming able-bodied contemporary saxophonists in our midst--Sam Riney, Jim Honeyman, Steve Tavaglione, John Bolivar, Brandon Fields, Gary Meeks, Justo Almario and Mike Gealer, among them--what is it about Richard Elliot that sets him apart from the rest?

For the 28-year-old horn man, the answer lies not so much in what he plays but in how he plays it.

“All I can do is be as sincere as possible about what I do as player, writer and producer (Elliot produces his own LPs), and hopefully, that’s going to come out sounding like me and nobody else,” Elliot said in a conversation in the back yard of his North Hollywood home.

“Creating a style that’s identifiable over anyone else isn’t something you think about. Some people sound like themselves, others don’t. I loathe (people sounding like other people) so much, I’ll sound like myself.”

Elliot, who calls himself a “crossover musician,” clearly needs to have listener support.

“I think I went into crossover music, rather than mainstream jazz, because I have never been a real introverted musician who derived all my pleasure from within myself,” he said. “A lot of it comes from response from the audience. And the more response from the most audience I can get, the better. I need that recognition. I like to play listeners’ music. For the most part, mainstream jazz is more a musicians’ music.”

The saxman, who plays At My Place in Santa Monica tonight and Saturday, goes so far as to say he’d “modify” his music to accommodate his fans. “However,” he added, “I will draw the line somewhere.

“There has to be some kind of happy medium. I have to like what I’m playing whereas there are a lot of artists who don’t care. They’re looking at sales. Maybe I’m idealistic, but I believe there is a common ground between being creatively satisfied and being commercially accessible. The purists may strike me down for that, but I am what I am.”

Strongly influenced by Ernie Watts, Tom Scott and Michael Brecker, Elliot plays a broad mixture that includes modal tunes and blues shuffles, as well as R&B-tinged; and Caribbean-flavored numbers. “I like real rhythmic stuff, something with a pulse to it,” he said. “And, I like to have an aggressive approach--make sure there’s fire. Even when I play a ballad, I like it to be a little hard-hitting. The kind of music I do is not acoustic stuff.”

During his 10 years as a professional, Elliot has spent a lot of his time playing with such names as Rickie Lee Jones, Tower of Power, the Yellowjackets, Melissa Manchester, Alphonse Mouzon and Huey Lewis & the News.

Some of these jobs, like Tower of Power, were “dreams come true”; others, like Manchester, were “more for the money.” Ultimately, they all lacked one thing: Elliot wasn’t the leader. He says that’s all changing.

“I have been a sideman to pay the bills, but now with the release of my third album (“The Power of Suggestion” (Intima)), I figured it was time to make a commitment to my solo career,” he said.