Greg Piccolo is a sax man through and through. At age 75, he’s been honking, wailing, and serenading sweetly for more than six decades, having formed his first band at the age of 13.
Most famously, he spent nearly a quarter century with the instrumental all-stars in Roomful of Blues before embarking on his own career with backing group Heavy Juice for the last 30+.
So, it may come as a surprise to some fans that on the latest release from Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice, Who Knows What the Future Holds (MoMojo Records) there’s less, well, of Piccolo’s sax playing. And that’s on purpose.
“I wanted to show myself as more of a songwriter and singer here,” Piccolo says via Zoom. He’s the sole writer on the 11 tracks, which were culled from his reservoir of material over the past decades, mostly just recorded in demo versions or not at all.
“It got to the point where I had done them different ways, and I wanted to put them together with a band. I’m 75 and didn’t want to wait any longer,” he continues. “These songs were never copywritten or published before, but it was time for them to be out there in the world. And I think they sound pretty good all together.”
The songs on Who Knows What the Future Holds run the gamut of blues-based styles, tempos, and subject matter like “Truth is a Sly Fox,” “Let’s Play it in the Car,” “Dream Girl,” “She Couldn’t Stay,” “Guilty,” and “I’m Movin’ On.”
And some of them will take on a different meaning to a listener in 2026 versus when Piccolo first put them down on paper.
Upon initial listen, “People Are Hot” (which Piccolo sings with a slight Jamaican/Island accent) is just about high temperatures on the beach for its protagonists. But today, it could be taken as either a commentary on global warming or just the hot rhetoric of people who disagree—and loudly—with each other.
And Piccolo is just fine with that. Or any other interpretations.
“I’m finding more and more about what I really meant. It’s great to know what other people hear. It makes me feel that it’s more than me just putting out a bunch of songs. It makes people think,” he says.
In “Don’t Tell Me the Truth,” a forlorn but steadfast man can’t help but notice his woman’s late arrival, smeared lipstick, ruffled clothes, and the suspicious “cousin” she’s kissing might mean she’s stepping out on him. But in true hear/speak/say no evil, his good thing is so good that he doesn’t want to know anything that might cause it to end.
“Well…people are human and we’re not perfect!” Piccolo laughs. “It’s like ‘Don’t tell me what it is, because I can’t change it!’”
Finally, “Break in the Clouds” features Piccolo’s most searing, expressive, and expansive vocal with an epic, moody sound to boot. “We all have our dreams, they can be a heavy load/We do our best to carry them along the path as we go/Look for a place to lay them down/And forget them for a while/’Til we get back the strength to pick them up again/And move on down the line.”
“I’d love to see Lady Gaga do that song!” Piccolo laughs. “She could do a hell of a job on it!”
Joining Piccolo on the record are players Shinichi Otsu (keyboards), Dean Shot (guitar), Paul Tomasello (bass), Mark Kazanoff (baritone sax), Al Gomez (trumpet), and longtime drummer…Bob Ruggiero. Who shares a name with this writer.
And—in another twist—he attended Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Connecticut with this writer’s father…also named Bob Ruggiero. Who played some amateur (wait for it) saxophone.
“I didn’t know there were two of you! And now three!” Piccolo laughs. “I thought someone was playing a joke on me when I saw your name!”
Piccolo reflects on his time with Roomful of Blues which he joined at age 19, part of that under the leadership of the legendary singer/guitarist Duke Robillard.
“Duke was such a strong player and influence and leader, I just wanted to do whatever he wanted me to do. And a lot of the guys felt the same way,” he says. “It was a great experience. And when Duke left, I became the kind of de facto singer.”
It was at the suggestion of Bob Bell, Roomful’s Manager, that Piccolo begin to write some original material—even though he’d never actually done so before. Nose to grindstone, Piccolo came up with seven original tunes. All of which appeared on the band’s 1984 release Dressed Up to Get Messed Up.
Greg Piccolo is quick to note the influences in his musical life. He says his two biggest are Hank Williams and Louis Armstrong. Along with classic sax players Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Gene Ammons. He also has high praise for one of his contemporaries, Scott Hamilton.
But he holds a special place for Illinois Jacquet, who spent almost all the first 17 years of his life in Houston, attending Phyllis Wheatley High School.
“His playing is tonally and melodically understandable. It’s not filled with notes you don’t need to hear. He was a master who sang through his horn,” Piccolo says. “I’ve had a few favorites over the year, and he was my first real favorite, and still in the top two or three for me today. If people tell me I’m a great sax player, I’ll say ‘You don’t know who I know.’ Those players made me.”
Finally, when asked about any impressions of Houston over the years, Piccolo breaks out in a smile.
“First of all, Bob Claypool. He was a champion of a lot of musicians, and we latched onto him. He was always good to us, and it was great to know him,” Piccolo says of the late, esteemed music journalist for The Houston Post and later Houston Chronicle.
“And playing places like Rockefeller’s for Sanford and Susan Criner. And the Big Easy. Tom [McClendon, Big Easy owner and guiding light] is such a great guy. And of course, Houston’s Mexican food and barbecue. Actually, Houston is probably my favorite city in Texas. They’re blue collar. It’s not about running the state. Although I’m sure there are people there that do!”
For more on Greg Piccolo, visit GregPiccolo.com
