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Saxophonist and composer Crispin Cioe first started playing the clarinet at the age of nine, and while in high school in suburban Detroit, he formed a working jug band with some pals, including future New England blues legend James Montgomery. Mr. Cioe was drawn to the saxophone as his primary instrument while attending the University of Michigan where he studied creative writing, film and music. He also attended Wayne State University and Berklee College of Music. After moving to New York City in his mid twenties, he turned to journalism for financial sustenance while he pursued his career as a saxophonist. His articles, columns and reviews appeared in Musician, Playboy, High Fidelity, and The SOHO Weekly News. During this same period he co-created the horn and reed section called the Uptown Horns.
Mr. Cioe has performed, recorded, and toured with The Rolling Stones (Steel Wheels Tour '90/ Livewire LP/ Live at the Max IMAX film), James Brown (sax solo on "Living in America"), Howard Tate (Rediscovered LP),Aretha Franklin, Duke & the Drivers, Joe Cocker ("Unchain My Heart"), R.E.M., Buster Poindexter ("Hot, Hot, Hot"), Debbie Harry (sax solo on "French Kissin'"), J. Geils Band (Showtime, Freezeframe LP/tours), Robert Plant, the B-52's ("Love Shack"), RuPaul, Tom Waits (Raindogs LP), Keith Richards ( Main Offender LP), Ohio Players, Carolyne Mas, Albert Collins ( Cold Snap and Iceman LPs), Marshall Crenshaw , B.B. King, Ray Charles, Robert Palmer (Power Station tour) Iggy Pop, Joan Osborne and many more. Recently, Mr. Cioe's saxophone and horn arrangements are featured on Wilson Pickett's Grammy-nominated comeback album, It's Harder Now.
In cinema, Mr. Cioe has scored and written songs for a number of films, and was the featured arranger and soloist for the '98 Paramount release The Real Blonde, directed by Tom DiCillo and starring Darryl Hannah and Matthew Modine. He produced and co-wrote 22 songs for Burnzy's Last Call ( the Sundance Channel), working with such singers as Debbie Harry, Evan Dando, David Johansen, Graham Parker, Buster Poindexter, the Smithereens, and Lou Christie. In fall, '99, Burnzy's Last Call was released nationally as a soundtrack album on the Cellsum/Ripe&Ready label to critical acclaim. Mr. Cioe also scored the award-winning independent documentary film Five Wives, Three Secretaries and a Maid, directed by Tessa Blake for Asset Films in late 1999, as well as the score for the short film The True Story of Frankie Toussaint, written and directed by John Eskow for Saturday Night Live. In addition, Mr. Cioe has played the saxophone on scores for such films as the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple, Abel Ferrera’s The Funeral, and the Academy Award-winning documentary When We Were Kings.
In television, Mr. Cioe has been musical director for VH-1's Buster's Happy Hour, a comedy/music hour hosted by Buster Poindexter and his Banshees of Blues and has served as musical director for The James Beard Awards on the Food Television Network. He has also performed on numerous television shows including The Tonight Show (with Carson & Leno), Late Night with David Letterman and The Late Show with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, and The Grammy Awards (performing with Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt) . For the past few years, Mr. Cioe has performed regularly on the Mark Twain Award Tributes to Richard Pryor Lily Tomlin, and Jonathon Winters at the Kennedy Center and broadcast on the Comedy Channel/PBS, and on the ESPY Awards for ESPN-TV, playing with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. He was also on the road in 1999-01 with the reunited J. Geils Band for their Great American Houseparty Tour.
Mr. Cioe was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Chicago, New York, and the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe. He played in rock and funk bands after attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, most notably the renowned midwestern soul group, Radio King & His Court of Rhythm. He is married to Krista Bradford, who heads The Good Search, an executive search and human capital intelligence firm. Together, they have a 12-year old daughter Katie who has taken a liking to the music of James Brown and Dean Martin. They live in Westport, Connecticut with their corgi-mix Norton, and their two cats Mortimer and Gracie.
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