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Pick your 3 favourite sax players

129K views 361 replies 290 participants last post by  SMOOTHJAZZ 
#1 ·
Ok so I'm trying to get a feel for which players people like and if there is a specific time period or style of music people prefer in this community. So I have devised perhaps a foolproof way of doing so: Pick your 3 favourite sax players of all time, IN ORDER, no ties (eg Frank Foster and Joe Lovano tied for 1st) and the players do not have to necessarily be jazz musicians. Please limit yourself to only 3 and if you feel like it explain why. I will start:

1) Charlie Parker
2) John Coltrane
3) Pharoah Sanders


I picked Bird first because in my opinion he is the only true genius to emerge from jazz, he made jazz modern and just about everyone playing now is a grandchild of Bird whether they realize it or not. And on a personal note, he was the first hero in my life. I never had any heroes growing up (of course I had role models) and convinced me I would be a sax player for life.

Coltrane came second because he could not usurp Charlie from the top spot (this is what I mean by no ties). He was an intense brilliant innovator who made me switch to tenor for awhile. I could go on about Trane (and Bird) but now I must come to my third choice.

Pharoah Sanders is third mainly because I consider his sound beautiful and the logical conclusion of the Coltrane sound. I saw a concert of his in 1994 at the Jazz fest here in Toronto and he had everyone in a trance. It was the greatest concert I have ever attended (even beating out the Michael Jackson victory tour back when I was a kid).
 
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#61 ·
in no particular order..
Cannonball
Brecker
Bob Berg


I'm really shocked by how many times Turrentine showed up on here.. not because I don't like him.. I love him.. just shocked.. nice to see!! You can give me a little Turrentine or Hank Crawford anytime!!!
 
#76 ·
Hope people are still taking this seriously. :)

I only have a limited library of music right now, so my choices are narrowed some. Not in order, that is tougher.

Michael Brecker - I just can't believe the stuff he can do on Sax.

Eddie "Lock Jaw" Davis - I love the way he can honk out nasty tunes, doesn't do nasty on as many songs as I would like.

Coleman Hawkins - I don't think he is the BEST at any one thing. But to me he seems to be the Swiss Army Knife of Tenor Players, he can can just make ANYTHING sound well. Stick him in any Band and have him play any song and it is done well. Hawkins of all trades.
~
 
#77 ·
I don’t want to disappoint you, but maybe the pole is a bit demanding. Just to put in perspective the HUGE difficulty of the task (names written without any order)!


GIANTS (i.e., IMHO, the following names could be considered out of the scope of the pole):
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane
Ornette Coleman
Anthony Braxton
Eric Dolphy
Steve Lacy
Albert Ayler


Then just look at some significant contenders (however disputable!):

SOPRANO
Evan Parker
David Liebman
Sidney Bechet
Lol Coxhill
John Butcher
_________ (just fill in another option)

ALTO
Johnny Hodges
Jackie McLean
Cannonball Adderley
Paul Desmond
Lee Konitz
James Spaulding
Thomas Chapin
Tim Berne
John Zorn
Ned Rothenberg
Julius Hemphill
Joseph Jarman
Roscoe Mitchell
Henry Threadgill
Marion Brown
John Tchicai
Sonny Stitt
_________ (just fill in another option)


TENOR
Sonny Rollins
Joe Henderson
Sam Rivers
Ben Webster
Stan Getz
Charlie Rouse
Hank Mobley
Stanley Turrentine
Coleman Hawkins
Lester Young
Johnny Griffin
Wayne Shorter
Ellery Eskelin
Ken Vandermark
Peter Brötzmann
Tony Malaby
Joe McPhee
Michael Brecker
Frank Lowe
Pharoah Sanders
Frank Wright
Archie Shepp
Glenn Spearman
Larry Ochs
David S. Ware
Charles Gayle
David Murray
Wardell Gray
_________ (just fill in another option)


BARITONE
Harry Carney
Gerry Mulligan
Mats Gustafsson
John Surman
Leo Parker
Cecil Payne
_________ (just fill in another option)


BASS/CONTRABASS
Vinny Golia
Anthony Braxton
_________ (just fill in another option)


Therefore, I won’t reply to this pole with 3 favourites! I like all (most) of them and their relevance in modern music is considerable.

Many others are also out of this list namely lots of young jazz musicians and improvisers. I listen to as many as I can and that’s FUN!

Thus, please forgive me for not contributing with my vote!
 
#84 ·
Hmmm, even 300 favs is not enough. So, I've got one for each generation for each voice.

Soprano:
Sidney Bechet
Lucky Thompson
Grover Washington

Alto:
Johnny Hodges
Charlie Parker
Kenny Garrett

Tenor:
Lester Young
Dexter Gordon
Michael Brecker

Bari:
Harry Carney
Gerry Mulligan
Gary Smulyan
 
#86 ·
3 favorite sax players? Ok, I think my top 3 all-time are (in no particular order):

Chris Potter
Sonny Stitt
Bird

And since we've deviated from the original poll, top 3 favorite (all jazzers at least on this list):

Pianists-McCoy Tyner, Red Garland, Count Basie

Trumpets-Miles, Clifford, Freddie Hubbard

Bones-JJ, Delfeayo Marsalis, Tommy Dorsey

Drummers-Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, Louie Belson

Bassists-Mingus, Ray Brown, Christian McBride

Guitarists-Wes, Jim Hall, John Scofield

Vocalists-Ella Fitz, Joe Williams, Johnny Hartman

There, did I cover everything?
 
#87 ·
1. Pepper Adams. 2. Sonny Rollins. 3. Impossible to say....too many guys.
 
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