Fred flashed the jazz hands at the Regent Theatre on Tuesday, 28 March 2023.

The original Blood, Sweat & Tears-member performed with Gerry Beaudoin and Bob Nieske.

Music kicks off Boston-area premiere of film What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?

What the hell happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? Jazz happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

At least it happened to Fred Lipsius, the original saxophonist for seminal rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears.

After touring the world end to end, Lipsius has long called Massachusetts home. He retired in 2020 after teaching full-time for thirty-five years at Berklee College of Music.

He still finds time to play out. Tuesday night at the Regent Theatre was a prime opportunity to showcase the jazz chops in front of an enthusiastic crowd that came for the music of Fred Lipsius, and stayed for the Boston-area premier screening of the documentary What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? 

The film captures the story of the brass/rock fusion band sent to play a gig behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War. With present day tensions brewing between the West and Russia, it’s a story that feels more of the moment than the talking heads on screen might have imagined.

The saxophonist was in a mood to talk as well, chatting with fans in a post-screening meet & greet about the past, present, and future to come. As we all know, time is a flat circle.

Fred Lipsius Trio

Fred Lipsius performed as a jazz trio, joined by friends and comrades in music guitarist Gerry Beaudoin and standup bassist Bob Nieske.

With a touch of the dramatic, Lipsius started off the evening solo. He strode out onto the stage at Regent Theatre with the cool lights in the upper rafters catching a shine off his saxophone.

For a Blood, Sweat & Tears fan, hearing Lipsius fire up the solo horn is like splitting an atom into its constituent parts and capturing a cloud of protons, electrons, or neutrons all on their own. It’s a pure uncut element that’s been released from the thicker stew of the rock fusion they remember from the band of yesteryear.

Flying free on his own, Lipsius served up a solo with a strong, even tone, a little sense of humor, and plenty of style.

Fellow musicians Gerry Beaudoin and Bob Nieske each had their turn in the classic jazz roundabout style. 

Look closely at the Beaudoin photos – is that an 8-string guitar? That’s a lot of square footage to wrap your hands around, but it maximizes the high- and low-end range for the strummers who can handle it.

And what would a jazz trio be without a standup bass? Bob Nieske took his tallboy walking to the delight of the Regent crowd.

All this and more as prelude to asking the question: what the hell happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?

Film aside, the question could be answered hundreds of ways. As of 2023, more than 175 musicians have “flowed through the ranks” of the band. That’s more members than Spinal Tap! The crowd seemed happy to see that one of the original members was still doing his thing on a Tuesday night in Arlington.

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