by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
It was music to his ears. The sound coming from one single saxophone has kept him doing what he does best for over 20 years.
“I heard a guy playing the saxophone when I was visiting with my brother and I thought that it was neat and I knew that this is what I wanted to do,” said Bob Wright. “I heard it before, but I never really made the connection.”
Wright, a native of Jacksonville, has been playing the saxophone since the early 1970s. For over 10 years, people have known him as the man playing the saxophone underneath the Main Street Bridge, near the Landing.
Wright got his own 1960s alto saxophone in the early 1980s. Before he began playing for pleasure, he played in his high school band.
“I first heard the saxophone in middle school, but I never thought about playing it until I heard him,” Wright said of the man he heard while visiting his brother.
Wright left Jacksonville for a few years to go to Atlanta and Long Beach, Calif. But after a year in each city, he wanted to come back to his hometown. It was in California where he got the courage to play outside in front of people.
“I started playing in California like I am doing right now (at the Landing),” he said. “Before I was too self conscience to be out in front of people by myself.”
When he got back to Jacksonville, Wright was playing more on the other side of the St. Johns River at flea markets.
“I ventured over here and they were actually looking for people like me,” he said. “I got a badge so I can play at the Landing.”
The badges have to be worn at all times when playing on the Landing’s property so security knows they are authorized street performers.
Wright plays at the Landing four to five days a week, but if he isn’t under the bridge it’s because of the weather.
“It depends on the weather. If it’s too hot, in general it is hard to play,” said Wright. “But the weather usually is pretty good.”
His ideal temperature is 65 to 75 degrees, he said.
Wright also used to play in front of the Landing facing Independent Drive, but he found playing underneath the bridge was much better.
“The acoustics are good under here,” he said. “There is a slight echo.”
Audience or not, Wright just likes playing because of the sound. For Wright, playing the saxophone is like therapy because he suffers from bipolar disorder. Wright is on disability and takes medication to help him with his disorder.
“Playing the saxophone keeps me occupied and not thinking too much,” he said. “I kept playing the saxophone because I didn’t want to end up in some factory.”
Playing the saxophone helps him keep his mind clear, too, he said.
“I like the sound (the saxophone makes), it does something; it is like therapy for me,” he said. “That is one of the main reasons I play, because it is good for my body.”
Playing for himself and others is what Wright enjoys most after playing in country and soul bands in both Jacksonville and Atlanta. But jazz music is the genre of choice.
“I like the freedom that I get here,” he said. “I get to play what I want to play.”
What may amaze people walking by is that he can play for hours straight without looking at one sheet of music.
“I have a good memory and I like to conjure up stuff myself,” said Wright. “Sometimes I will play around (while playing at the Landing), but mostly I play songs that are familiar or I do my own renditions of them.”
Wright has a variety of tunes he knows from the song list in his head, and he likes to vary his songs from day to day.
“I want to play good songs for people,” he said. “I don’t ask for money, I am just here for their entertainment.”
Even a musician who has been playing for most of his life is still learning.
“I have been taking lessons for a couple of years now from Joseph Yorio,” he said. “And sometimes I play for ArtWalk near Jacobs Jewelers.”
Wright is usually at the Landing from about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. throughout the week. He said it is great playing there and the Landing has been very good to him.
“I am going to keep playing until someone takes my hands off my saxophone,” said Wright. “I just hope people like what they hear.”