Pianist, songwriter, painter, author and tax protester Tupper Saussy died Friday at his Belle Meade Boulevard residence. He was 70 years old. Saussy, the mastermind behind late-'60s pop group the Neon Philharmonic, was scheduled to release his new album The Chocolate Orchid Piano Bar with a performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at The Basement. According to Warren Pash, who produced the new album, the evening will now be a celebration of Saussy's life. An excerpt from a piece discussing Saussy and his new record, which was scheduled to run in this week's Scene, follows, after the jump.
UPDATE: Los Angeles producer Andy Zax, who worked on the double-CD Neon Philharmonic reissue Brilliant Colors: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (and who became a close friend of Saussy's), will devote tomorrow's (Tuesday's) edition of his Internet radio show "Archives of Oblivion" to Saussy's work. The show will run from 4 to 7 p.m. on Luxuria Music. From an email Zax sent us, "In addition to Neon Philharmonic material, I'll also be playing selections from his three early-'60s jazz albums for Monument; the two rare psych-pop 45s he cut as The Wayward Bus; a sampling of his work as an arranger and sideman for the likes of Roy Orbison, Mickey Newbury, Mama Cass and Chet Atkins; and a number of rare and previously unissued tracks. I hope it'll be a fitting tribute." Read Zax's memories of Saussy on his "Archives of Oblivion" blog.
