| Dean Walker (aka Madgrocer) began playing saxophone at age 9 and continued his entire secondary education years studying music, listening to jazz, and performing with and leading small groups. Dean attended Indiana Univ. of Pa, where he studied Music Education in the mid 80's until leaving IUP to pursue his other love.. running Supermarkets. Dean has studied saxophone performance, jazz, theory and improvisation wiht Tim Price, Dr. John Keiuhn, Joe Miller, Saxie Shollenberger and John Morris. Dean has performed and recorded with local groups in eastern Pa including "The Bentonites", "On the Run", "Fancy Brass", "Big Beat Tornado" and "Ron Nolan". After a long layoff from the local music scene while raising children, and a hectic schedule as a corporate executive, Dean realized he still to satisfy his passion to play and perform, and started to seek out new and exciting projects. Dean has quickly become a highly sought after saxophonist for everything from solo projects to his group CHILLFACTOR, a contemporary jazz group.. and BIG BEAT TORNADO an original Groove/Funk band. Both bands work out the Reading, Pa area. On stage Dean brings an evergy level, passion and enthusiasm for the music that few others can convey, and drives that passion right into the listeners years with every note he plays. Dean's playing is heavily influenced by the likes of Saxophonists; David Sanborn, Grover Washington Jr., Bob Berg, Michael Brecker, and Ron Bertolet. |
