alright. so if maceo parker and eric leeds met in a dark alley and had to play dueling horns unto death, who would emerge funktorious?

Maceo...everytime.

Dan said:

co-sign! every bit of ammo eric has acquired to shoot back at maceo was created by maceo. cat is practically the definition of funk on a sax. there are so many jb records to support this.

I'd love to see that battle. Though Maceo has the "old-skool" chops that can anchor just about any Prince funk song, I lean towards Eric's unique stabs and fillls. Madhouse anyone?

I'd have to give it to Eric. The man's got all kinds of neat, off-beat, melodic weapons in his arsenal. I LOVE Maceo's playing (his riffs before the "Jordans" comment on "We Do This" are KILLER).

But, Eric has always impressed me. He's a beast!

-
[This message was edited Wed Mar 24 19:54:22 2004 by ThreadBare]

i'll say maceo.

Its kinda like comparing BB King to Steve Vai, theyre just different players...

Each musician suits a different track.

yup, they are different players. and maceo's got the old skool roots...
but seriously, ....

when it comes to backing prince, and prince just needs the most stankfonky horns,
i gots to go with leeds. somehow, without question, i say gimme leeds.

Maceo wins everytime, he is walking funk...
Eric is no mean match though...in a way he's more of a jazzer, but each is different, comes to it Candy's a killer too,

HiinEnkelte said:

No disrespect to Eric Leeds or any of yall, but are you aware of how many tracks Maceo has played on that are the epitome of funk? Even with Eric's history with Prince, it aint touchin all that Maceo has learned over the years. Leeds' catalogue is limited when it comes to funk. If you were mention another genre, then perhaps. But Leeds is not seein Maceo when it comes to funk.

Maceo of course... Eric is a great player but the word "funky" was in the title of this post...
BTW who is that new guy who was in New York, I mean the sax player, and why did Prince have 3 alto players?
Why would Prince have a 3rd player want to when he has Maceo AND Candy already. I can understand 3 keyboard players more than I can understand this...

That question is like comparing coffee to tea or pizza to pasta, I mean they´re both great players , one being the one and only Maceo Parker, a legend of its own, sax player during James Brown´s heyday and probably one of the most original and well respected players on this planet, an the other is the, to us hardcore fans at least, the one and only, the unique Mr. Eric Leeds...Prince´s saxplayer from back in the Revolution days, brother of Alan Leeds, Prince´s former tourmanager who also used to work for James Brown back in the old school days, now managing D´Angelo....

Eric Leeds is an essential figure in the Prince Universum and so is Candy, to a certain extent...
But comparing him to Maceo Parker ?? I know the question wasn´t probably serious but I think it´s a safe guess that Eric Leeds has deep respect for Maceo and probably wouldn´t even think about this question.
Then again it´s a matter of personal taste ...one might be a huge Maceo fan but that doesn´t mean he has to be the most dominant sax player.
Three sax players are a bit too much for my personal taste , just one sax player on stage would be cool, they could change every now and then ...as much as I´m a fan of Mr.Parker and his own contributions to the musicworld there´s just something about Eric Leed´s sound that adds a lot to Prince´s style and they complement each other very much, and I´ve gotten so accustomed to Eric´s solos in Rockhard in a Funky Place , Parade, SOTT and so on that his sound is THE essential sax sound in Prince´s music, even though not many outsiders might necessarily understand our appreciation for Mr.Leeds, the average listener is probably not even aware of who he actually is. But I think Dreaming About U is a good example, you just hear it´s Eric´s style when his solo kicks in.
Mr. Parker is surely one of Eric´s heroes...the definition of FUNK..but IMO, it doesn´t have to be funky all the time , that´s like pigeonholing Prince´s music ...one the one hand it´s good to see Maceo healthy and still going on tour and on the other hand I appreciate every contribution of Eric to Prince´s music.And why not also bring in Eddie Minninfield (?sp.?)occasionally ..... it was great to see him at the Celebration .

Why should we have to choose? If Prince likes the both of them, so do I . Maceo is one of a kind, and Prince should be DAMN thankful that HE is touring with him, seeing as Maceo can draw a crowd of his own . Who would really go out of their way to see Br. Leeds play a show? Who besides me doesn't just gush when you hear the breakdown at the end of "Mountains" with Atlanta and E?

KoolEaze said:

Well said! Eric Leeds' name will always have a place when discussing what made Prince's music so great.

Eddie M. was at the show in San Francisco on Valentine's Day. Quite a nice surprise.

HiinEnkelte said:

Gospel,
I think that the better question is who plays better with Prince? The answer to that is hands down Mr. Leeds. I mean lets face sometime two people just go together musically and Prince and Leeds are like Batman and Robin, Peas and Carrots, white on rice, and stink on shit. It just has to be that way. I guess overall you could give the edge to Maceo but Eric Leeds aint no punk believe that!!!!

Playing aside, I would vote for Mr. Eric Leeds. 2 reasons why:

1. Lovesexy tour

2. He didn't make us wait 2 god awful hours to see Prince, at the opening night of the 2002 Celebration. You just get of the plane, hours before, get checked into your hotel room, go all the way out to Paisley Park, all stoked to see Prince... Maceo would not stop playing. He just kept going, and going and going and going... I don't care how funky you are, or how long you been playing... 2 hours of the same sax solo / instrumentals when we're all waiting for Prince was dreadful.

chiltonmusic said:

There is also no mistake in why that is true though. Eric Leeds toured and composed with Prince when he was at his highest creative streak. Prince is touring a lot these days. But Maceo still has not performed or composed with Prince as much as Eric Leeds has. It might be safe to say that Eric has more versatility than Maceo outside of Funk. He has performed with a lot of big named people outside of Prince. Most notably I think is Eddie Palmieri. Who was also a great band leader and virtuoso musician. Eric must have learned a great deal from him as well.

HiinEnkelte said:

Leeds, however good he may be, will be slaughtered by Maceo.

HiinEnkelte said:

Eric has a superior sound, more creative ideas(Maceo plays the same crap everytime he solos), and has a BIGGER saxaphone..SIZE MATTERS hehee

rudedog said:

Yes, and while other musicians merely have a 'saxophone', Eric has his own special instrument, the 'saxaphone'!

I've heard it in action on N.E.W.S. and I have to say it really is something.

I'd go with Maceo for funk, but Eric is a very inventive player.

Sometimes I actually get tired of Maceo's playing on Prince tracks, but it's important to remember he's not really a collaborative element, just a sideman in this instance.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 26 18:22:48 2004 by fauxnewbie]

fauxnewbie said:

Exactly. If you limit it to funk Maceo wins just like James Brown bests Prince.

fauxnewbie said:

CRAP???
someone must be without ears in this forum, firstly the way Maceo punches that horn is neither the same all the time nor is it anything ever but artistry!
Of course tenor and alto have different "voices", listen to Maceo against most other alto players and you'll realise he has an incredible range for that particular horn... that is if you are interested in music, of course, with that in mind I would say that these competitive threads become redundant after a while.
Musicians don't act like this they appreciate each others talents and contributions in the same way each human being is different.
One of Prince's many talents is to use some very very fine musicians to do justice to his music that applies to both Maceo and Eric and Candy if it comes to it.
new thread?????

Eric Leeds plays more of a Prince style, while Maceo has the James Brown thing. A bit too basic for me; I like Erics electric style better. He has that big band thing goin down.

Maceo hands down! The JB's, Bootsy's Rubberband, P-Funk


He has played horns on some of the funkiest records ever made. 11 years with James and 15 with George. This man is FUNK!