scott Ramminger

Scott Ramminger

Saxophone

Scott Ramminger grew up playing the sax and guitar in Huntsville, Alabama. He was a founding member, sax player, arranger, composer, and lead vocalist with the popular North Alabama jazz rock group, "After Blue."

After college, life intervened, and while he continued to dabble in guitar, the good sax eventually got sold and the beater went under the bed. In late 2005, Scott saw both Delbert McClinton's sax man, Don Wise and D.C. area tenor great Ron Holloway play in the same week. He got the bug to play sax again. He went up to Holloway after his show and asked him: "Hey, where can you get a sax fixed around DC." He hauled his old tenor to the store to be fixed, and ended up walking out with a brand new horn.

"You could say it's like riding a bike. But in the case of the sax, if you haven"t played for a long while, it's like riding a bike with concrete shoes on. When I first started back I could barely stand to listen to myself practice." After six months in the basement, Scott began frequenting local blues jams, where he wound up onstage at the Sunset Grill in Annandale with CP Blues. The band invited Scott to come by a blues jam it was hosting at Dr. Dremos in Arlington. They subsequently called him to play a gig a Bangkok Blues in Falls Church.

After that, Scott suggested that he come by one of the band's weekly rehearsals. "I liked the guys in CP Blues right away. I figured if I just kept showing up at practices, they might eventually invite me to join the band. I guess it worked."

Scott plays all of the saxes, but specializes in tenor and bari. He helps out on vocals as well, and has contributed a couple of tunes to the band's list of originals. In addition to playing with CP Blues, he frequents a variety of area blues, rock, and jazz jams, and plays regularly with a jazz rehearsal group.