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Revered saxophonist Flore found dead at home

By CRAIG BASSE
Published March 18, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - He rolled into town in the early 1970s with an Ohio band called the Melting Pot and a musical resume as big as the sound of his sax.

His name was Mike "Craze" Flore.

"We discovered right away that he was special," said drummer Bobby Barnes, founder of the Impacs, a longtime area rock and rhythm and blues band.

"He could play arrangements off the top of his head like no one we'd ever heard, and we had heard a lot of players.

"On top of that, he was a nice, gentle person. If you wanted a real horn player, he was the guy. The rest of us were just winging it," Barnes said.

Mr. Flore, a member of the Ocean Road Band for a half-dozen years, was found dead at his home Thursday (March 16, 2006). The Medical Examiner's Office said Friday that he died of natural causes. He was 61.

"He could play anything," said Lee Ahlin, a fellow member of Ocean Road, whose credits include productions of Shakespeare in the Park by St. Petersburg's American Stage and Webb City: The Musical. "He could play any key and any style. He's the only tenor man I know who could do that."

In the early 1980s, Mr. Flore began playing with the Vic Waters and Impacs Reunion Parties at the Gulfport Casino and the St. Petersburg Coliseum. He became a regular with the Impacs in the 1980s and 1990s.

"He was an incomparable player who made everyone he played with instantly better," said Dave Scheiber, leader of Ocean Road and a Times sportswriter. "He'll be greatly missed as a player but just as much as a person."

Close friends said he had played with such acts as the Toler Brothers Band, the Coasters and the Drifters. Little Richard asked him to join his band before Mr. Flore decided to make the move to the Tampa Bay area.

Born in Columbus, Ga., he lived in Youngstown, Ohio, and Columbus, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University and was an avid Buckeyes fan.

Music came into his life early, said his mother, Marie Flore of St. Petersburg.

"He was almost 8 when he started begging to take clarinet lessons," she said.

Reluctant to take on a child his age, his teacher finally relented, agreeing to give him five lessons, she said.

"After one lesson, they said he was ready," his mother said.

Other survivors include his father, Richard of St. Petersburg; a daughter, Marci Smith; two brothers, Richard Jr., and Gary, and two sisters, Sherry Segna and Lisa Murray, all of Columbus.

Novak Funeral Home in Columbus is in charge of arrangements, which were incomplete Friday.

[Last modified March 18, 2006, 02:30:29]