Mel Collins

For most of the '70s, it seemed like every sax, clarinet, or flute that turned up on an art-rock album was played by Mel Collins. He practically owned the franchise on reed and flute sounds on every King Crimson-related session for a couple of years, and added his sax to Camel's sound later in the decade. But he also proved himself multi-lingual where music was concerned, working in jazz-based blues with Alexis Korner's and Pete Thorup's Snape, and played solid R&B-style as a member of Kokomo in between King Crimson and Camel. Collins' first major band was the Stormsville Shak...