Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, Witch Water, and Tiger, at Moe's, Seattle, WA, September 21, 1995

This poster advertises a performance at Moe’s Mo’Roc’N Café in Seattle, Washington, by the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, with Witch Water and Tiger, on September 21, 1995. 

The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, now known as the Tiptons Sax Quartet, is a Seattle-based quartet formed in 1988. The group performs with five members, four of whom are vocalists and saxophonists, alongside a drummer and percussionist. Amy Denio (b. 1961), on alto and tenor saxophone, and Jessica Lurie (b. 1967), on soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone co-lead the group, which currently also includes Sue Orfield (b. unknown) on tenor saxophone and Tina Richerson (b. unknown) on baritone saxophone. Various other saxophonists have performed with the quartet since its inception. In Europe, Austrian drummer Robert Kainar typically performs with the group, while Tarik Abouzied steps in on United Sates tours. The band’s material ranges from Big Band to Gospel, Bluegrass, Balkan, Funk, and more. The band’s name pays tribute to Billy Tipton, a trans-masculine saxophonist who found musical success in 1960s Spokane, Washington. 

Moe’s Mo’Roc’N Café was opened at 925 East Pike in Seattle in the early 1990s by Jerry Everard (b. unknown), who had also helped open The Crocodile in Belltown. While much of Seattle’s music scene was located in Pioneer Square and Belltown, Everard hoped to not only move the city’s musical center to Capitol Hill, but to build an Indie Rock club that could attract national and international acts. The name Mo’Roc’N Café was a play on its Middle Eastern food service, when restaurant revenue was required to serve alcohol. Tiny Hat Orchestra was the first band to play at Moe’s in February 1994, the same day the venue received its liquor license, and over time they hosted the likes of Radiohead, Neil Young, and Pearl Jam. Numerous actors, directors, athletes, and other celebrities, including Gary Payton and President Bill Clinton, made their way to Moe’s before it abruptly closed in 1998. In 2004, Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room—pronounced “new Moe’s”—was opened in its place, a concert venue soon joined by the neighboring Moe Bar.