Sam Noto, a great bop soloist, was briefly a prominent figure in the U.S. in his late-’70s recordings of Xanadu. From 1969 to 1975, he spent a lot of time in Las Vegas and became familiar with Red Rodney. Noto was used by Rodney on a 1974 recording. Noto moved to Toronto in 1975 where he continued working in the studios with Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass until the early ’80s. Noto’s many recordings with Xanadu earned him some fame. Despite appearing less frequently on records after that, Sam Noto is still very active in Toronto. Allmusic
