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Tampa Police: Sax Player Jailed For Soliciting Donations

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 14, 2008

Updated: 04/14/2008 06:21 pm

TAMPA - Saxophone player Maximin Andre Pierre has a new reason to wail the blues.

Maximin Andre Pierre

It was bad enough, he said, that he was homeless after being arrested for stealing a milk crate – a charge he denies even though he entered a guilty plea.

Once again, he's an inmate at Orient Road Jail.

Pierre was arrested Sunday afternoon while playing his sax in Ybor City.

In addition to being behind bars, Pierre said he has been temporarily separated from his beloved King soprano saxophone, which was impounded as evidence.

The 58-year-old Pierre was warned several times by police that he should not be collecting donations in Ybor City without a permit. About 2:20 p.m., when he failed to heed those warnings, he was arrested, according to the report.

Pierre was charged with one count of vending in Ybor City without a permit, a misdemeanor.

Speaking from the Orient Road Jail, Pierre said he is "an artist who is trying to make a living with his art."

He only pled guilty to the milk crate charge because he wanted to get out of jail. But, he said, he intends to fight this latest charge, no matter how long it takes him.

"There should be something in the Constitution that protects someone with little or no power," he said. "This country was built on capitalism. What I do is one of the purest forms of capitalism there is."

Pierre said the amount of money he can earn in a day ranges widely, from nothing to $100.

The biggest single donation he received was $50, from a man who listened to him for hours, he said.

A self-described jazz musician, Pierre said he usually plays standards, like "The Pink Panther Theme," "Tequila" and "Fly Me to the Moon" when he is working the streets in Ybor City.

"If I were on stage, I would play Coltrane," he said. "I am really into straight ahead jazz."

Still, he said he prefers the streets.

"I play on the street by choice," he said, "because I enjoy the freedom."

He might get a chance to taste that freedom again soon.

This afternoon, after learning about Pierre's plight, noted First Amendment attorney Luke Lirot agreed to represent Pierre and post his $250 bond.

"We heard about it and we haven't had a chance to look at Tampa's ordinance, but based on what we heard, they are somehow harassing him and there is no constitutional way to prevent someone from playing the saxophone on the sidewalk," said Lirot's co-counsel, Brandon Kolb.

Editor Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629 or haltman@tampatrib.com.

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