Fred Lipsius

Fred Lipsius (born 19 November 1943 in the Bronx) is the original saxophonist and arranger for the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears, for which he played alto saxophone and piano. He was with the band from 1967 to 1971.

Before Blood, Sweat & Tears, Lipsius played with the Ronn Metcalfe Orchestra.

Lipsius has performed with Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin, and jazz greats Cannonball Adderley, Thelonious Monk, Zoot Sims, Eddie Gómez, Al Foster, George Mraz, Larry Willis, Randy Brecker, and Rodney Jones. He has written music for and performed on over 30 CDs as both a leader and sideman. He has authored six books on jazz improvisation and jazz reading.

Lipsius now teaches at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Born in the Bronx, New York City on November 19, 1943, Lipsius began playing the clarinet at age 9, alto and tenor saxophones in junior high school, and the piano at Music and Art High School in Manhattan. He continued his studies at Berklee School of Music (1961–62).

Lipsius was the original saxophonist, arranger and conductor with Blood, Sweat & Tears from 1967 to 1971. He also doubled on keyboards. While with the band, he won nine Gold Records plus a Grammy Award for his arrangement of "Spinning Wheel". Lipsius also arranged and co-arranged, respectively, the hit singles "Hi-De-Ho" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy". In both the Down Beat and Playboy jazz polls he placed in the top ten of the alto sax category. Lipsius has composed, arranged and produced radio and TV commercials, including 2 CBS TV logos- themes introducing the season's upcoming shows. In the spring of 1982, he toured in Japan and Europe with Simon and Garfunkel.

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