Tony Saunders (bassist) facts for kids
Tony Saunders is an American bass and synthesizer player. He plays many types of music, including jazz, gospel, R&B, pop, and world music. Tony is also a composer, which means he writes music. He is an arranger, who organizes music, and a music producer, who helps make recordings. He even runs his own music studio.
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Tony's Early Life and Music
Tony Saunders grew up in a musical family. His father, Merl Saunders, was a famous keyboard player who helped Tony start music early. Tony began singing when he was five years old and playing piano at eight. Famous musicians like Herbie Hancock and Sly Stone were some of Tony's first teachers. Sly Stone even gave Tony an organ when he was ten! When Tony was fourteen, he started playing the bass guitar. Many great musicians, like Jimmy Smith and George Duke, were often around his father. Tony could listen to them play and learn.
In 1969, Tony's father, Merl Saunders, was the music director for a play called Big Time Buck White. Tony was the lead singer for a group called The Man Child Singers. They recorded songs from the play, like Right On and Mighty Whitey. They also recorded a jingle for the San Francisco Giants baseball team.
Tony received one of his first piano lessons from Herbie Hancock. He later earned a special scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for piano. His first Fender bass guitar was a gift from Tom Fogerty, who was a guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. Tony graduated from the Conservatory of Music in San Francisco.
Tony won his first Emmy Award when he was 14 years old. He won it with his father for a children's TV special called Soul Is. This show was a PBS documentary about Black poetry, and Tony played the bass. He won a second Emmy for a TV episode called "China The Digital Economy."
Playing with Famous Musicians
When Tony was 17, he started playing with his father and Jerry Garcia. He was a main musician in their band, Merl Saunders & Aunt Monk. Later, Tony played in the first Rainforest Band and recorded on all of his father's other music projects.
Well-known bass players like Chuck Rainey, Jack Casady, and John Kahn noticed Tony's talent. John Kahn introduced Tony to James Jamerson, and Tony learned a lot from all his teachers. Other musicians who influenced him include Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller. This helped Tony develop a very flexible and different style of playing.
Tony has written music for movies, TV shows, and commercials. He has also produced many CDs from his own studio, Studio 1281. He wrote music for a play called Zetta and was its music director. He also directed the music for Rock Justice.
Tony has worked with many artists, including Nils, Jeff Lorber, Mavis Staples, John Lee Hooker, and Austin Brown. Tony's first solo album, Bigger than Outside, came out in 2011. It stayed on the music charts for 70 weeks! His second CD, Appaloosa, was released in 2014. It features Grammy winners Howard Hewett and Bill Champlin. His third CD was called Uptown Jazz. Tony's latest song, "Rock Steady," is a cover of a hit from the 1980s. This song reached number one on many radio stations around the world.
Gospel Music and Charity Work
Tony has loved gospel music since he was a child. He learned from choir director Leon Patillo. When he was 14, Tony met the Hawkins family, who inspired him to play bass and helped him spiritually. He played with Walter Hawkins and Edwin Hawkins in the 1980s. In 2005, he released He Lifted Me Up, his first gospel music project. Tony has also played with other gospel artists like Andraé Crouch and The Clark Sisters.
Tony has also played with his father and other famous musicians like Stevie Wonder, David Crosby, and Sly Stone.
Tony has worked with and performed for many charity groups. These include Bread And Roses, the Seva Foundation, the Rex Foundation, Rock for Hope, the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic, and the Rainforest Action Network.
Some of the bands and people Tony Saunders has played with include Tony Saunders Romancing The Bass, The Rainforest Band, Les McCann, Eric Clapton, and Band of Gypsies. In 2009, The Rainforest Band played a special show to honor Merl Saunders. Tony Saunders, Michael Hinton, and other original members performed. They were joined by Sikiru Adepoju on talking drum and Douglas "Val" Serrant on steel drum and djembe.
In 2021, Tony signed with a new music label, Baja/TSR Records. His new CD, All About Love, is very popular.
Awards and Honors
Tony Saunders won a 2022 Telly Award for a video called "Black Lives Matter." He wrote this video with Nona Brown. Tony has also received two Emmy Awards. He also won the Grand and Silver Awards for educational music at the New York Film Festival.
Discography
Studio Albums
- Whispering Waters - Tony Saunders/Paradize (2002)
- Romancing The Bass - Tony Saunders solo CD (2011)
- Appaloosa - Tony Saunders solo CD (2014)
- Uptown Jazz - Tony Saunders solo CD (2016)
- All About Love - Tony Saunders solo CD (2021)
As a Main Contributor
- Peace to the Planet - Rain Forest Band (2005)
- He Lifted Me Up - Tony Saunders & Anointed Voices (2005)
- Sweet Breeze - The Noteworthy Band (2021)
Other Contributions
- Right On / Mighty Whitey - The Man Child Singers (1969)
- Merl Saunders - Merl Saunders (1974)
- You Can Keep Your Hat On - Merl Saunders (1976)
- Light'n Up, Please! - David Liebman (1976)
- Come to Me - Juice Newton (1977)
- Rock Justice - Marty Balin (1979) (Music Director)
- Imagine Heaven - Edwin Hawkins Singers (1982)
- Do the Right Thing [Soundtrack] (1988)
- Brothers & Sisters I Will Be Praying for You - Rev. James Moore (1994)
- Beyond The Thunder - Neal Schon (1995)
- Best Kept Secret - Lady Bianca (1995)
- Blues of the Month Club - Joe Louis Walker (1995)
- Keepers - Merl Saunders (1997)
- Fiesta Amazonica - Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band (1998)
- Summertime in the Big City - Larry Vann (1998)
- Yes I'm Ready - Ricardo Scales (1999)
- Rollin' - Lady Bianca (2001)
- Final Recordings 1 - John Lee Hooker (2003)
- Rhythm & Roots of Larry Vann - Larry Vann (2003)
- Sweet Jimmie Sings the Blues - Sweet Jimmie (2003)
- Face to Face - John Lee Hooker (2004)
- Still Groovin' - Merl Saunders (2004)
- Jazz Ala Soul - M.R.L.S. (2004)
- Live! From San Francisco - R&B All-Stars (2004)
- Songs for My Three Mothers - Juel Nero (2004)
- Songs for the Being Human - Steven B.'s Heart Language (2005)
- Sweet Love - Patricia Wilder (2005)
- In a Mendocino Town [Bonus Tracks] - II Big (2006)
- Face in the Glass - II Big (2007)
- Knee Deep - James Levi (2007)
- Home Schooled: The ABCs Of Kid Soul - Various (compilation) (2007) Numero Group
- Just Kita - Nikita Germaine (2008)
- Sweet Feelings - Ashling Cole (2008)
- Live at John's Grill - We 3 (2008)
- Magic Touch - Ron Thompson and the Resistors (2008)
- Paradise in the Valley - Hartfield Family (2008)
- St. Mark Baptist Church: 60th Anniversary - Pastor Rodney G. McNab SR./The Spiritual (2008)
- ... Somethin - Tony Saunders (2020)
Filmography
- Rock Justice - Marty Balin (1979) (Music Director)
- Peggy Sue Got Married - (1986) (Actor, musical performer, wrote one song)
- CBS Schoolbreak Special: God, the Universe & Hot Fudge Sundaes (1986) (Actor)
- Farmer & Chase - (1995) (Soundtrack)
- Faith & Fear: The Children of Krishna (2001) (Composer & Musician for TV)
- Beginning Bass - Tony Saunders DVD (2005)
- Writer's Day (2005) (Composer & Foley Artist)
- Learning Bass Guitar - Tony Saunders & Rudy Sarzo - DVD (2007)
