Ralph Gari was a ground-breaking American saxophonist born in 1927. Raised in an Italian family in New Castle, Pennsylvania, he played woodwinds from an early age and violin from age seven.  He studied in Pittsburgh & New York, eventually holding down woodwind chairs in the bands of Vincent Lopez, Frankie Carle and Paul Whiteman.  Most of the rest of his career was based in Los Angeles (NBC Television Orchestra) and Las Vegas (Sands Hotel, Caesar's Palace).  He taught at Long Beach State College from 1967 and commissioned a number of modern classical works for the saxophone - following in the footsteps of his idol, French saxophonist Marcel Mule.  He died Oct. 30, 1990.