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Although he’s called a “smooth jazz” artist, saxophonist Richard Elliot is equally at home with most rock roll and the kind of classic RB performed by the group Tower of Power. For five years in the 1980s, he was a big part of the classic RB band’s horn-based sound. The Scottish-born Elliot was raised in Los Angeles, where he quickly became a fan of West Coast classic RB. Elliot landed his first job while still a teenager with Natalie Cole and the Pointer Sisters. A few years later, he was tapped to record with some of his idols from Motown Records, which had relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles. In the 1970s, he had the chance to record with Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops, and the Temptations. Elliot was later tapped to record with the Yellowjackets on their second album.