Saxophonist and Paducah resident Reggie Lafaye signs his emails with, "We have music that we may speak without words." He has been speaking without words since he bought his first sax at age 11 after his parents took him to see The Pink Panther movie. When Reggie asked his mom what instrument made that classic Pink Panther theme sound, she replied "the saxophone" and he was immediately hooked.
For five decades Lafaye has played across the country—either headlining his own show or opening for various artists such as Little Richard, Reba McIntyre, and Loretta Lynn. He has now retired from traveling and plays at Ristorante di Fratelli's every Saturday from 6-9 p.m., at the Pasta House every third Friday, and at many private functions around Paducah.
Reggie was introduced to Raffaele Ponti, the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra at a Lions Club kick-off luncheon for the Lions Club Telethon where he played his sax and a friendship began.
Raffaele later dropped by di Fratelli's on a Saturday night for Reggie's set and asked if the saxophonist would be interested in doing a cameo performance with the Paducah Symphony for the December concert. The tune he will be playing is Round Midnight, a jazz standard composed by pianist Thelonious Monk. Reggie, with his pianist friend Keith Brown, have built an orchestral arrangement for the piece. “I’m really looking forward to unveiling this collaboration with the Symphony on December 8th when all of Paducah can hear this picece,” he said. At that performance, everyone in the performance space will be able to witness Lafaye’s philosophy of speaking without using words.
