Stooges legendary sax player Steve Mackay in critical condition with illness

Steve Mackay, the brilliant sax player who added that elixir of free jazz to the early Stooges and also who played saxophone with the Violent Femmes and many other influential underground rock bands, was in critical condition in a Daly City hospital Tuesday after being checked in with a life-threatening infection.

Hospital officials say Mackay, 65, was taken to Seton Medical Center Monday evening to be treated for sepsis, a complication of an infection that can cause multiple organs to fail. Officials said that as of noon Tuesday, he was still in critical condition in the hospital’s ICU and surrounded by family members.