That Sax Guy Events

I believe in three things:

1. Good Vibes — This is the entire foundation of my business. I want your guests to leave your party thinking "That was the most fun I've had in a long time." I am not the snobby, stuffy, self-entitled musician who insists on elegance and sophistication. I am the fun, high-energy entertainer who insists on people actually enjoying themselves!

2. Great Communication — I got married in 2024, and to put it lightly... planning a party of that caliber can be stressful. The last thing I want to do is add to it! You can count on me to communicate not only with you, but also your planner, venue coordinator, DJ/band, and anyone else that may be in the mix to ensure that all logistical and musical needs are met in a timely and proactive fashion.

3. Only The Best — This is going to sound so cliché, but whatever, it's true so I'm saying it. I refuse to settle for anything less than the best. I simply care too much about my clients to let that happen. You're spending a lot of money to have me on your dance floor. I'm going to give you every last ounce of effort I've got to bring that dance floor to life!

The first time I played sax was in 2008 at “band instrument try-out day” in 4th grade. I played it for about 30 seconds. Horrible experience. It hurt my teeth and made me dizzy. Hard pass. I played the cello instead. Two years later, my grandpa gave me a piece of advice that changed the course of my life forever: “You know, Michael, cello is a beautiful instrument… but sax gets the girls.”

That's when I started taking sax lessons with Poppa.

In high school, my friends and I started a band in high school called “Xazz.” We played hundreds of events together, including a segment on WGN Live, the Chicago Emmy Awards, and a Joe Biden Rally. We also won the Bitter Jester Music Festival on multiple occasions, which is now known as one of the largest live music competitions in the country. Fun fact: Bitter Jester Music Festival now hands out 5 awards to their most outstanding musicians: MVP Vocalist, MVP Bassist, MVP Guitarist, MVP Drummer, and a fifth award for the most outstanding musician in the festival on any other instrument: The Michael Brook Outstanding Instrumentalist Award.

I was named an Illinois All State Saxophonist in 2015, and I accepted a performance scholarship from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign the following year. I graduated in 2020 with a Bachelors in Music Education with focuses in music technology and jazz.

Graduating 2 months into the pandemic threw my plans to teach completely off track. I ended up making a LinkedIn account, getting a sales job at a freight brokerage, and moving downtown to River North. It was in Chicago that I joined indie rock band ZORILA, playing sax, keys and singing backup vocals. ZORILA headlined many venues across Chicago, including Lincoln Hall, Joe’s On Weed Street, Schubas Tavern, and Chop Shop. We also shared the stage with bands like Stolen Gin, Ax & The Hatchetmen, The Astronomers, Emarosa, and The Unlikely Candidates. You can listen to our music on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever else you listen to music!

In 2023, a little over two years into my day job, I got a text from a girl named Alyssa saying that she got my number from a mutual friend and was looking for a sax player for her wedding. I had played plenty of gigs with my bands up to that point, but never a wedding. Regardless, I thought "how hard could it be?" and took the gig. I had no clue at the time, but this was going to be one of the most transformative experiences of my entire life. In September 2024, less than a week before that wedding, ZORILA went on hiatus. This gave me some much-needed bandwidth to dedicate toward my newfound career as a wedding and event saxophonist. That wedding lit a fire inside me. The DJ (shoutout Matthew Duncan!!!) was and is one of the best DJs I've played with to this day, the bride and groom were on cloud nine, their parents wouldn’t stop thanking me, and all their guests were having the best time ever. After the last song, when most of the guests had left and I was packing my gear up, the bride came up to me with tears in her eyes saying how grateful she was that I'd brought her dream wedding to life. That’s when it hit me — this was the meaning I’d been looking for. In that moment, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. That’s where That Sax Guy Events was born.

Since then, I have performed at over 100 weddings, corporate events, private events, and public performances. I am so grateful to do what I love every day, and I am so excited to rock many more dance floors in the years to come!

I have a very light setup! This is an exhaustive list of everything I bring to my events as a solo saxophonist:

1. Saxophone with stand
2. Wireless sax mic (Shure QLX-D)
3. 360 camera with tripod
4. Water bottle

That's it. That's the whole setup. All I require is an XLR input on the mixer/DJ board and a power source for my wireless mic.

Of course, for clients who book my DJ + Sax packages, that also includes a sound system, DJ booth, wireless mics, and basic lighting (or enhanced lighting if you choose to upgrade!).