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).
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).