Best Sax Jazz

Well done sdcampbell, that was like taking in a good lecture. What about bass sax, what little I've heard sounds interesting.

After I got home and read my post, I noted an error: I listed Lester Young under alto sax, and again under tenor. He should have been listed only under tenor.

In response to "Wirehead": I don't know of any recordings that actually feature bass sax, since the instrument has a very large bore and is a bitch to play. Hence, when the bass sax is heard, it's normally in a group and is featured as a supporting instrument.

I was just getting on a roll with my previous post when I got interrupted and hard to actually get some work done. So, let me pick up the thread and make a few additional comments.

During the 1930's and 1940's, when Swing bands were successful, many of the great sax players were members of the groups led by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Jimmy Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson, etc.

Duke Ellington wrote many of his best pieces specifically for the gifted players in his band, so there are many tunes that are associated with his saxophone players that included Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Russell Procope, and Paul Gonsalves.

The 1930's and 1940's produced an unusually large number of superb saxophone players, probably because the big bands were very popular and it was thus possible for large groups to stay together for extended periods. There is always some danger in putting together a list of the "top" players from an era, particularly since so many of them are little known today. A list of the "bests" from this era would have to include Chu Berry, Don Byas, Herschel Evans, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Tex Beneke, Earl Bostic, Budd Johnson, Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Tate, and Benny Carter. Benny Carter was alive and still making records well into the 1990's.

In my first post, I mentioned that the respective styles of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young gave rise to the two "schools" or styles that still define sax players today.

Coleman Hawkins playing style, which has been described as warm, rather dark, full-bodied, and having a medium to fast vibrato, can be contrasted with Lester Young's style which was cool and light-colored, with a slow vibrato. Hawkins influenced players such as Herschel Evans, Chu Berry, Ben Webster, and Sonny Rollins.

Lester Young's style had somewhat great comparative impact, as can be seen from this list of players who adopted Young's style: Charlie Parker; Brew Moore; Paul Quinichette; Bob Cooper; Wardell Gray; Zoot Sims; Lee Konitz; Warne Marsh; Dexter Gordon; Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt; Stan Getz; Richie Kamuca; Al Cohn; Don Lanphere; Jimmy Giuffre; John Coltrane; and Hank Mobley.

With the advent of the Bop and Hardbop eras (mid-1940's to early 1960's), the tenor sax clearly eclipsed the alto as the "voice" of the small jazz group. For those who want to really immerse themselves in the great music of this period, here's a short list of the best sax players that have not already been mentioned:

Alto:
Jackie McLean; Lou Donaldson; Gigi Gryce.

Tenor:
Jimmy Heath; Frank Foster; Clifford Jordan; Teddy Edwards; Benny Golson; John Gilmore; Oliver Nelson; Junior Cook; Stanley Turrentine; Booker Ervin; Joe Henderson; Harold Land; and Tina Brooks.

Baritone:
Cecil Payne; and Nick Brignola

In the post-bop era, "free" jazz era, the most influential alto sax player of the 1960's was probably Ornette Coleman. Coleman is one of the most prolific post-bop composers, and his works and playing style reflect a fresh, adventurous melodic concept. Some of the sax players that were influenced by Coleman include: Dewey Redman; Henry Threadgill; Carlos Ward; Archie Shepp; Oliver Lake; Jan Garbarek; and Albert Ayler.

The last group of sax players that should be mentioned are those that are associated with jazz-rock fusion. While there is no "superstar" of the sax associated with this period of the 1970's and 1980's, many of the players have become well known: Michael Brecker; Wayne Shorter; David Liebman; Grover Washington; Eddie Harris; David Sanborn; John Klemmer; and Kenny G. (Honesty compels me to say that I do not consider many of these musicians to be "jazz artists" in the strict sense. I do not mean for this to sound intellectually snobby, but much of the music in this style lacks many of the key elements of jazz in the classical sense.)

Well, Sailor630, I hope my two posts get you started (infact, it may cause collective overload). Best wishes -- it's always nice to welcome someone to the beauty of good jazz.

Sd, wonderful work, very thorough, as for the "hardcore" picks, mine go like this;
1) Coltrane>>> All on Atlantic, Prestige and Impulse, but not "A Love Supreme" or Impulse after that time period.
2)Cannonball Adderly, Somethin Else, In Chicago
3)Junior Cook>> Somethings Cookin
4)Lou Donaldson>> Blues Walk, Lush Life
5)Johnny Griffin>> Return of the Griffin, You Leave me breathless, To the Ladies, The Congregation
6)Dexter Gordon>> One Flight Up, Bouncin with Dex
7)Colman Hawkins>> The Hawk Flies High, Hawk in Germany
8)Joe Henderson>> Live at the Vanguard, Relaxin at Camarillo, Mirror Mirror, Our Thing, Inner Urge, Foresight
9)Clifford Jordon>>Highest Mountain
10)Yusef Lateef>>Eastern Sounds
11)Branford Marsalis>> Royal Garden Blues, Renaissance
12)Hank Mobley>> Dippin, Soul Station, Work Out
13)Oliver Nelson>> Blues and the Abstract Truth, Straght Ahead, Screamin the Blues
14)Charlie Parker>> Charlie at Storyville, All sides on Savoy Records !!!!
15)Sonny Rollins>> Live at Vanguard, On Impulse, Plays for Bird
16)Wayne Shorter>> Juju, Adams Apple, Speak No Evil, Night Dreamer, The Soothsayer, The All Seeing Eye
17)Stanley Turrentine>> Mr Natural, Don't Mess With Mr.T, West Side Highwy,
18) Stan Getz>> Voyage,
19) Art Pepper>> Meets the Rythem Section, Smack Up, Gettin Together

The above artists and disks are what I consider the finest in the Jazz sax category, Hope this helps......Frank

What about Kenny G??
Only kidding. I remember buying his first LP..yes LP. This had to be 20 years ago and in the liner notes he was being touted as the next Sonny Stitt.The Lp and he flat out sucked. He is a flyweight among heavyweights, timing is everything. Can you imagine G on stage at a JATP?

Frap: Good choices, all. Here are some recordings that I think deserve to be added to your fine list:

1. Charlie Parker: "The Complete Dial Recordings"; "Charlie Parker With Strings"; and the concert at Massey Hall (with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach).
2. John Coltrane: with Miles Davis on: "Kind of Blue"; and "Miles Davis & John Coltrane in Stockholm" (1960, Dragon).
3. Sonny Rollins: "Tenor Madness"; "Sonny Rollins Plus 4"; "Way Out West" (all 3 from the 1950's); "The Bridge" (1962).
4. Stan Getz: "Stan Getz & J.J. Johnson at the Opera House" (1957, Verve); "Jazz Samba" (1963, with Charlie Byrd); "Focus" (Verve); and "People Time" (with Kenny Barron, early 1990's).
5. Dexter Gordon: "Go" and "Our Man In Paris" (early 1960's, Blue Note); some of the recordings he did in in the 1970's for Steeplechase Records (Danish label); and his "comeback" recordings at the Village Vanguard in 1976-77 (Columbia).
6. Johnny Griffin: "The Little Giant" (Riverside).
7. Cannonball Adderley: "Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco" (1959, Riverside).
8. Clifford Jordan: "Blowin' In" (1957, Blue Note).
9. Art Pepper: "Among Friends" (Discovery); "Straight Life" (Contemporary); and "Art Pepper with the Milcho Leviev Quarter - Live at Ronny Scott's" (Mole Jazz, late 1970's).
10. Ben Webster: "Art Tatum and Ben Webster" (Pablo, about 1956-57).

Last, I'd add several of the fine recordings done by Charles Lloyd in the 1990's (ECM label): "Fish Out of Water"; "Voice In The Night"; and "The Water Is Wide".

Thanks, everybody, for your participation. This has been a good thread, and I've enjoyed sharing some ideas with you.