Maurice White embraced the importance of blending great individual talent into a unique and collective body of artistry that ultimately blessed us with one of the most legendary bands in modern music history.  With that thought in mind, one of the stated goals of The Vision of Maurice White, is to highlight the role of the men and women who are a part of Maurice’s musical umbrella; past, present and future.
 
So today, we highlight Tom Saviano, a highly regarded musician in the music industry whose recording credits extends to producer, composer, musical director, arranger, saxophonist, keyboard player, and more.  Tom’s unique musical gifts has afforded him the opportunity to also compose for film and television, and to establish himself as a recording artist as well.
 
In 1981, Tom performed on “You Are A Winner” and the Grammy Award record “I Wanna Be With You” from Earth, Wind and Fire’s album Raise, as well as Maurice White’s 1985 self titled solo album “Maurice White.”  However, Tom’s career began as one of Los Angeles’ most talented session players, a reputation that landed him a stint as Melissa Manchester’s musical director.
 
It was during this period with Melissa that #TS formed the group HEAT with whom he released two critically acclaimed albums (HEAT and Still Waiting) from MCA Records, generating two Top 40 R&B hits, “Just Like You” and “This Love That We Found.” On both albums, Saviano co-produced and arranged all of the music, played sax and keyboard and wrote and/or co-wrote all of the songs.
 
Much like Maurice White, Tom assembled a group of outstanding musicians to create an incredible jazz infused R&B/Pop sound inspired by an Earth, Wind and Fire feel, and the result was an debut album that “Billboard, Cashbox and other trade magazines recognized as a force that came blazing into the atmosphere with a sophisticated presence usually expected from veterans such as Quincy Jones or a team like Maurice White & Charles Stepney.” –(Scott Gross, Inside MusiCast)
 
The albums from “HEAT” featured multiple EWF associates such as Jerry Hey, Chuck Findley, David Foster, Ricky Lawson, Paul Jackson Jr, and others.
 
In 2013, Tom took a fresh look at the music HEAT created and earnestly produced a re-introduction of the music with the benefit of new technology, while maintaining the essence of the original songs.  Please take this opportunity to check out “HEAT Revisted.”
 
Side Note: “Just Like You” was also hand picked by Debbie Allen and used for her dance feature on an episode of the FAME television series as well as being covered on the “Kids From Fame” soundtrack.