Local Sax Man Played With Ray Charles

By Mark Spain First Coast News

Ray Charles' life is playing out on the big screen in theaters. But living and working with the superstar is something no movie can acurately capture.

"My seat was right behind him. So usually when you got a shot of him you got a shot of me," said Tenor Saxaphonist Al Waters.

Waters played with Ray's band from 1990 to 2000 before a kidney ailment forced him to leave the band. He remembers that decade as one of the most enjoyable of his life.

"I loved every minute of it. Traveled around the world. Made it to five continents," said Waters.

For a kid who grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from New Stanton Senior High as well as having attended Florida A & M University on a music scholarship, being with Charles was quite a learning experience in its own right.

"He gave me an opportunity that I didn't even know that I was destined for," remarked Waters.

These days, Waters is attempting to his own band together so he can get back on the road and do what he loves doing, playing the sax. As for the movie about Charles, "It's so much more than a movie. That's a slice of my life," he adds.

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