Sax Man

The Sax Man is a fixture on the Cleveland streets, blowing his idiosyncratic mix of tunes through a battered sax, and providing a soundtrack for rush hour commuters, office workers on lunch break, or fans of the city’s sports teams pouring from the downtown stadiums. Most everyone who has set foot in downtown Cleveland has seen or heard the Sax Man. Few know the story of how he ended up on the streets playing for tips after a brush with musical fame. Ted Schwarz was one of those people passing the Sax Man as we walked to his office, but he stopped, listened to the music, and started asking questions. The result of his curiosity is this book, which tells not only the story of the Sax Man but of the R & B landscape and the lives of the musicians who surrounded him.