The Miami Horns - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

The Miami Horns first toured with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band in 1976 and 1977 during the latter stages of the Born to Run tour. For many years it was assumed that that horns line-up for this tour was the same quintet that featured on I Don't Want To Go Home. However research by the Asbury Jukes historian, Mike Saunders, revealed that the horns were actually provided by two separate quartets, both billed as the Miami Horns. The first quartet consisted of Carlo Novi (tenor sax), Eddie Manion (baritone sax), Tony Palligrosi (trumpet) and Rick Gazda (trumpet). They made their debut with Springsteen on August 1 at the Monmouth Arts Centre in Red Bank, New Jersey. At the time Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes where temporarily inactive due to Southside Johnny suffering from an illness. However, by September, Southside was fully recovered and Novi, Manion, Palligrossi and Gazda rejoined the Jukes. A second Miami Horns was then recruited to accompany Springsteen and the E Street Band. This line up featured Ed De Palma (sax), Dennis Orlock (trombone), John Binkley (trumpet) and Steve Paraczky (trumpet) and were based out of Philadelphia. They made their debut with Springsteen at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on September 26 and continued to tour with the him until March 1977.

On the Born in the U.S.A. Tour the Miami Horns, featuring Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg (trombone), Mark Pender (trumpet), Eddie Manion (baritone sax), Mike Spengler (trumpet) and Stan Harrison (tenor sax), made a guest appearance at the Meadowlands Arena on August 20, 1984; they featured prominently on Dobie Gray's "Drift Away", performed as a duet by Bruce and Little Steven, and on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out". This version of the latter song was later featured on Live/1975-85. On August 22 Springsteen returned the favour when he guested with La Bamba & The Hubcaps during a show at The Stone Pony. The Tunnel Of Love Express Tour of 1988 featured a horn section much more prominently. Rosenberg, Manion, Pender, Spengler and Mario Cruz, sometimes referred to as The Tunnel Of Love Horns or The Horns of Love, accompanied Springsteen throughout the tour. On September 19, 1988 at the JFK Stadium they also made a guest appearance during the Human Rights Now! Tour. On June 24, 1993, during The "Other Band" Tour they also guested once again at Meadowlands Arena.

More recently they have featured on the The Rising and We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Rosenberg, Manion and Pender also toured with Springsteen as part of The Seeger Sessions Band and subsequently featured on Live In Dublin. They also played with Springsteen at the halftime show during Super Bowl XLIII.

A photo of The Miami Horns playing behind Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Boston Music Hall on March 24, 1977 can be found here:

On January 31, 2012, Southside Johnny confirmed that the Miami Horns would be replacing Clarence Clemons on Springsteen's upcoming Wrecking Ball Tour.