St. Clair Pinckney born September 17, 1930

 

St. Clair Pinckney Jr. (September 17, 1930 – February 1, 1999), often nickname "Pink," was an American tenor and baritone saxophonist and flautist, best known for his long-standing collaboration with James Brown. 

Not much is known about St. Clair Pinckney's early years from his birth in Charleston, West Virginia, even then there are two possible dates given. One is January 1st and the other is September 17,1930. I've gone with September as it seems to be more widely used. The World Of Sax states "his journey as a saxophonist began with classical training, which provided a solid foundation for his later explorations in jazz and funk", but does not elaborate as to when and where. His earliest mention is in 1962, when he became a charter member of The J.B.'s, backing James Brown across several decades. 

Recognized as the oldest member of the group—often distinguished by a patch of grey hair—he remained in Brown's band for virtually its entire existence until health issues forced him to step down shortly before his death in 1999.  He performed as both a sideman and session musician on seminal funk and soul recordings, including Grits & Soul (1964), Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud (1969), Sex Machine (1970), Hot Pants (1971), and The Payback (1973).

                                  

With a rich, robust tenor sound, Pinckney was a solid, calm and dependable character, the kind of cement that held a band together through knowing the leader's ways and how best to survive them.  When he briefly stepped away from James Brown during band line-up changes in the early 1970s, he recorded with former bandmates in Maceo & All The King's Men before returning to Brown's roster. His collaboration with James Brown was not limited to the band alone. Pinckney also featured as a session musician on several of Brown’s studio recordings, adding depth and vitality to the tracks with his expressive saxophone playing. His contributions to songs like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “I Got You (I Feel Good)” played a significant role in shaping the sound of soul and funk music.

In addition to his work with Brown, Pinckney released solo jazz-funk projects late in his career via Ichiban Records, including the albums Do You Like It (1987) and Private Stock (1989), alongside singles like "Summer Breeze" and "As We Lay". During his later years Pinckney ha been suffering from Emphysema and his last recording was in October 1998 for the Jabo Starks and Clyde Stublefields album Born To Groove. Although he was very ill and on oxygen 24 hours a day they managed to roll St. Clair in his wheelchair into Audioarts Recording Studio and capture a wonderful flute solo he titled "Dynaflo." 

'Pink' died due to complication of Emphysema disease 1st February 1999 (aged 68). His funeral at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia was attended by a large contingent of orchestra members, J.B's and Soul Generals. James Brown spoke warmly of the musician and man. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, South Fulton, Fulton County, Georgia, USA.

Although St. Clair Pinckney is gone, his music will live on, deeply embedded in the tight horn voicing of James Brown and JBs songs like "I Feel Good," "Cold Sweat," "I've Got The Feeling," "The Big Payback," "Pass The Peas" and his own original, "Hot Pants Road."

(Scant information edited from a Fred Wesley article, Wikipedia, The Life of James Brown & The World of Sax)