Motown-loving saxophonist to appear in Cincinnati

  • 2025-08-08
A musician from Scotland who fell in love with Motown is coming to Cincinnati.

Richard Elliot is a native of the Scottish Highlands who moved with his family to Los Angeles where he fell in love with the Motown sound that pointed him to a career in music.

He got his start appearing with several bands including KittyHawk, a jazz-rock band where he played sax and lyricon, a type of synthesizer. He moved on to the well-regarded Tower of Power and played sax with them for five years. He also worked with the Yellowjackets, and worked on “Take Me All the Way,” a 1986 album by Stacy Lattisaw. He also worked with the legendary Smokey Robinson.

His breakthrough as a solo artist came when he reimagined “When a Man Loves a Woman,” a classic by Percy Sledge. He’s also become known for original songs like “Take Your Time,” “Chill Factor,” and “Crush,” as well as remaking pop classics like “Your Secret Love” by Luther Vandross.

He has enjoyed an extensive recording career and has released over 20 albums including “Jumpin’ Off,” and “After Dark.” Two of his albums charted at the same time: “Chill Factor” was on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart for more than 94 weeks, while “The Best of Richard Elliot” was on the chart for 26 weeks.

Richard Elliot will be at the Ludlow Garage on September 12. When they schedule performances like this, organizers can use poster printing methods to create suitable advertising for them.