Since his younger days, Lindy Marinaccio was deeply fascinated by big room saxophone sounds as he grew up around the same time the big band sounds were making the headlines. Many groups, such as the Count Basie Orchestra, the Gene Krupa Orchestra and the Harry James Orchestra’s performances at the Pleasure Beach Ballroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut influenced Lindy to take a musical detour at a later stage of life.
“I saw them all,” he said. “If you don’t come away liking the sax after that, I can’t help you,” Marinaccio said. “It’s just fabulous. The big band’s saxophone sections are a big part of the sound.”
He especially liked the sounds of saxophonist Earl Bostic in his hit song, “Flamingo.”
“I wish I had done it as a kid, but life is life,” said Marinaccio, a resident of the Village of Hillsborough. “I’m glad I picked it up later in life. It’s a sense of accomplishment. I’m participating in something that’s a work of art.”
After retiring from his government job, Marinaccio picked up the alto saxophone at an age of 77 and started taking classes.
“At a certain point, the young kid in me came out,” said Marinaccio. “I always wanted to play the sax. It has the sweetest sound.”
When Marinaccio arrived in The Villages in 2013, he had zero to little experience of playing the instrument. Until that moment, he had been through almost a couple of years of lessons in Washington D.C. His teacher suggested joining a band to sharpen his sax skills.
He went to one of The Villages New Horizons Band’s rehearsals, sat in the saxophone section and was handed music for the second alto sax parts, after a brief discussion with Ward Green.
“And that was it,” Marinaccio said. At his first concert, Marinaccio said he played about 60% of the music.
“I struggled, but I was in there,” he said. “The people in my section were helpful to me. It’s like being a rookie in baseball. You’re not going to be Joe DiMaggio your rookie season.”
About two years later, Marinaccio got the chance to join The Villages Hometown Band. He practices the music every day and is always observed prepared for any future concert or performance.
“I’m getting better at it,” Marinaccio said. “As you learn more about the instruments, you listen to music differently than before. Music is a wonderful thing. It’s a part of the beauty of life, it is.”