The 50 Greatest Saxophonists…EVER!!! 10-1
Well, we’ve made it to the end of the official Burning Ambulance countdown of the 50 Greatest Saxophonists…EVER!!! Here are the Top Ten.
10. JOE HENDERSON. The key saxophonist of Blue Note’s mid-’60s “inside-outside” period, Henderson played on five albums of his own between 1963 and 1966, as well as crucial titles by McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, and more. While his playing got fierce at times, it always maintained an essential calm and a stark discipline at its core. Henderson’s lines may seem diffident at times, like he’s mumbling into the horn, but it’s only because he’s omitting all unnecessary notes, honing his ideas to their core. One of the most meditative of all tenor players, but as capable of blowing the walls down as anybody out there. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: Inner Urge, a 1964 release that’s the only one of his five Blue Note albums to feature him as sole horn. (Buy it from Amazon)
9. DEXTER GORDON. A big man with a big sound, Dexter was a bebop pioneer who brought Bird’s idiom to Lester Young’s instrument—and paved the way for John Coltrane. He had a roomy, galloping sound that never sounded rushed or hasty, swinging slowly behind a song’s rhythm and giving it an instantly recognizable breathy tone. From heroin addiction to a long stint in Europe to a triumphant return home, Gordon had a sort of storybook jazzman’s career – as evidenced by the fact that he basically played himself in a thinly disguised version of his own life called ‘Round Midnight. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: Our Man in Paris, a 1963 date with pianist Bud Powell, drummer Kenny Clarke and bassist Pierre Michelot, burning through standards in the tightest way imaginable. (Buy it from Amazon)
8. ALBERT AYLER. A revolutionary figure in the 1960s avant-garde and a towering influence to this day, Ayler combined seemingly unfettered free-blowing solos with melodies that went back to the earliest roots of jazz, drawing on gospel, marching bands and New Orleans polyphony. His stripped-down, blaring ESP-Disk albums made his name, but with John Coltrane‘s support he signed to Impulse! and began to experiment with rock instrumentation and more. In the last year or so before his death in 1970, he began to work in a more explicitly gospel-drenched manner than before, including pounding piano and vocals from his girlfriend. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: Slugs Saloon, a two-CD set of live recordings from May 1, 1966 that features Ayler alongside his trumpeter brother Donald, violinist Michel Samson, bassist Lewis Worrell and a young Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums. (Buy it from Amazon)
7. SAM RIVERS. A crucially important figure, Rivers was one of the “inside-outside” members of the mid ’60s Blue Note roster, releasing albums that blasted hard bop into shards while remaining melodic enough to avoid scaring away fans of tonality. In the ’70s, his Impulse! releases ran the gamut from furious trio improv to the massive, overwhelming big-band project Crystals, even as he ran one of the most important loft spaces, RivBea Studios. Oh, and he was a fantastic player, biting and dry with wit and imagination to spare. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: His Blue Note debut Fuschia Swing Song (buy it from Amazon) and Crystals (buy it from Amazon) couldn’t be more different, but they’re unmistakably the product of the same questing mind and fleet fingers.
6. ANTHONY BRAXTON. As renowned for his compositional and organizational talents as for his voice on the horn, this charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a professor who also imparts lessons from the bandstand, demonstrating new ways to approach melody, rhythm, and the standard repertoire while engaging in wild, and likely unrealizable, flights of conceptual fancy when the mood strikes him. The popular perception that his music is dry and inaccessible is contradicted within about two minutes of listening to almost any of his literally hundreds of albums; the guy conveys a palpable joy every time he puts the horn to his lips, even as his compositional conceits are twisting listeners’ brains. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: Dude, come on. His discography could fill a 40-foot trailer, with new releases arriving seemingly weekly. But you’ve got to start somewhere, and New York, Fall 1974, the first album of his astonishingly fertile streak on Arista in the mid-1970s, makes a great entry point.
5. PETER BRÖTZMANN. A titanic figure in European free improv and American free jazz alike (particularly the Chicago practitioners), Brötzmann’s career has been astonishingly varied, from the scrabbling three-way interplay of his trio with pianist Fred Van Hove and drummer Han Bennink to the funk-metal-noise assault of the 1980s Brötzmann/Sonny Sharrock/Bill Laswell/Ronald Shannon Jackson supergroup Last Exit. His voice on the horn may be instantly recognizable, a blustering hurricane that can almost literally stagger listeners back a step, but he’s capable of true sensitivity when the moment calls for it, and he listens carefully to his collaborators, as evidenced by the surprisingly intricate work of the Chicago Tentet. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: Machine Gun, a 1968 all-star octet date that still makes almost everything else feel like Kenny G by comparison. (Buy it from Amazon)
4. ORNETTE COLEMAN. A liberator turned one-man school, Coleman’s recordings from 1959 and 1960 broke (or just ignored) jazz’s rules of chords and harmony; he preferred to play based on the melody and mood of the piece. His wavering, sometimes crying tone on the alto can make you feel like your fillings are going to shake loose, but his playfully circuitous solos create a suspense rarely found in the work of more chordally bound musicians. Whether with an acoustic band or his electric ensemble Prime Time, Ornette Coleman always sounds like Ornette Coleman, and that’s never a bad thing. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: The Shape of Jazz to Come, not Coleman’s debut but nonetheless his public coming-out. Unpredictable, but almost always swinging, and frequently as joyous as a man singing to himself when he believes himself unobserved. (Buy it from Amazon)
3. CHARLIE PARKER. What would jazz be had Charlie Parker never been born? His influence is incalculable; generations of saxophonists grow up studying his compositions and solos, but that’s just the beginning—the entirety of bebop springs from work he did with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in the 1940s. The seven years that marked his creative peak—1944 to 1951—saw him develop and demonstrate an approach to improvisation based not on melody, but on chords, allowing him to pillage standards and in the process create new standards that are still played today. His creativity was matched by an astonishing level of technical skill, unprecedented in his time and rarely equaled today. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes, a three-CD set gathering up all the material Parker released between 1944 and 1948. (There’s an eight-CD version, loaded with rehearsals and alternate takes, for obsessives.) (Buy it from Amazon)
2. JOHN COLTRANE. Maybe (OK, almost surely) the most important saxophonist in jazz history. Beginning in the mid ’50s, he graduated with astonishing speed from conventional hard bop to displays of technical wizardry (“Giant Steps”); spent the early ’60s driving a quartet to the brink of human stamina; and in his final years, exploded beyond jazz entirely, performing marathon concerts filled with screaming solos of vein-popping intensity. His recorded and philosophical legacies are still being grappled with to this day; his tireless exploration and willingness to constantly push forward are both an inspiration and a challenge to all who pick up the horn after him. Though the earnestness of pretty much everything he did after 1960 can occasionally be intimidating, the beauty and power of his playing have an impact no other player can match. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: Crescent, the immediate prelude to 1965’s A Love Supreme. Balancing power and focus (“Crescent”) with light-hearted hard bop (“Bessie’s Blues”) and dreamlike balladry (“Wise One”), this is possibly the most purely beautiful album Coltrane ever made. (Buy it from Amazon)
1. SONNY ROLLINS. Anyone calling himself—or even willing to accept the title—“the Saxophone Colossus” better be one hell of a player to justify it. Luckily, that’s not a problem with Rollins. One of the first true masters of the hard bop sound, Rollins’ grounded, bluesy tone accompanies a melodically ambitious sensibility that has led to a number of his compositions becoming part of the standard jazz repertoire. Never afraid to reinvent himself and learn new tricks, and confident enough to have become the first major sax player to put his own playing front and center with no piano to support the melody, Rollins has been one of the most enduring players of the last 60 years. Even now, in his 80s, his shows are frequently breathtaking, offering the chance to watch a leonine master show players half his age how it’s done. ESSENTIAL LISTENING: It’s an obvious choice, but the aforementioned Saxophone Colossus (buy it from Amazon) is the best of his early recordings, and is still startlingly fresh after over fifty years. On the far opposite end of the spectrum, his mid ’60s confrontations with the avant-garde, Our Man in Jazz (buy it from Amazon) and East Broadway Run Down (buy it from Amazon), are ferocious, relentlessly exploratory titles that blend free blare with unstoppable swing.
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ROSCOE MITCHELL??!!!!!! Evan Parker? John Butcher? Paul Flaherty?
A young man currently living in Japan also a graduate of Berkley music academy whose name is Michael J Roberts, will I suggest be up there with the greats very soon !!,
Here is a (completely serious) suggestion: contact Sonny Rollins and ask him whether he thinks he should be placed above John Coltrane.
I see your point, and having interviewed Rollins and knowing how outrageously humble he is, I can tell you he’d probably aver that he has no place on this list at all. But Rollins ranks above Coltrane, in my estimation, because Coltrane’s career (not counting time spent in big bands etc. in the late ’40s) lasted a dozen years, and Rollins is 60 years into his professional career and still going.
… its not about how quantity, but about quality. John Coltrane maybe have played for a much shorter period of time, but completely changed saxophone playing and jazz as a whole.
And Coltrane would likely defer to Rollins. He did, in fact, say that Charlie Parker played everything he (Trane) wanted to play, plus a whole lot more…
Booker Ervin? That guy could peel the paint off the wall.
lee konitz warne marsh johnny hodges evan parker jimmy giuffre
Art Pepper? I’m astonished that he isn’t included.
I was expecting to see Art Pepper & Charlie Parker 1&2 (but don’t ask me which order!)
Phil Woods?
Jimmy Lyons? Evan Parker?? Rahsaan Roland Kirk??? Funny.
Sidney Bechet!
I know it’s all opinion, and everybody’s got one, etc. etc. but…..John Gilmore ought to be much, much higher on this list. You seem to focus on his non-Arkestra work… as if the playing he did with Sun Ra isn’t enough. Essential listening: “Dancing Shadows” on the Sun Ra album “Nothing Is.” Top 10 at least.
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Okay, just saw this. I won’t get into judging the writer’s opinions, but what is the criteria that was used for this? Historical relevance? Actual technical ability? Influence on other sax players? Recorded output? I’d like to know how the opinions were formed and how the different criteria were weighted.
As a sax player with a pretty specific taste, I can’t speak to some of these players’ entire output, but if influence on other sax players, ability, and historical relevance are factors, Cannonball is most assuredly in the top 20. There is a whole SCHOOL of alto players that came out of him (much akin to Trane, Bird, or Kenny Garrett (who, frankly, deserves to be on this list). Perhaps this is where the divide exists between fans and followers of the music and actual practitioners. If you asked 100 professional saxophone players to do a top 50, then took the averages, I think you’d find a pretty basic, even boring and predictable top 20.
Gotta love arbitrary rankings. The primary intent is to amass page hits and get a conversation started. Mission accomplished. No disrespect to any of the 50 that cracked the list, but the author may want to bone up a little on Michael Brecker. He was pretty good.
Matts yes, Marco Eneidi no. You guys are unreal. A shonda for the Burning Ambulance.
Kenny Garrett anyone?
where the hell is kenny g?
I ought to smack you
Michael Brecker
by technical ability he should be #1.
This music is the greatest!
Hank Mobley, George Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin, Cannonball Adderly, James Carter, Branford Marsalis, Stan Getz, Chris Potter, Coleman Hawkins, and Lester Young are all more influential than some of these guys
How could you possibly leave Rahsaan of a top 50 Saxophonist list? I mean, is it just ignorance to his catalog or do you really, legitimately feel like their were 50 better horn players than he?
I’m just totally baffled by this.
Call it an oversight. Though I’m not a huge fan, his talent is undeniable.
Not to nitpick, but it’s “called 50 greatest”, not “50 favorite” or what have you. If we’re talking talent, aptitude, natural ability, versatility, etc, then Kirk blows almost all of those guys out of the water whether you personally prefer him or not.
Birdman will always be in my top 10..hell maybe even top 5
Who is Birdman?
Dana Colley (Morphine)
I pretty much agree with this top ten, especially Rollins being number one. If the title of the article was most INFLUENTIAL players of all time I might put Coltrane or Parker at the top. But the GREATEST player I would say is Rollins.
FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI..That’s the king of sax QED
I know someone who ranks among the greatest saxophonist of all time; his name is Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It’s a great error that you missed him out in your compilation. Maybe you need to do your research again
Good discussion.
No idea who Birdman is. Please enlighten.
Surprising omissions:
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Kenny Garrett
Any of the Contrabass and baritone players
Sonny Stitt
Jim Nance (Ellington)
did I miss Bechet?
James Moody (!!!)
A west coast tenor who rivaled Pres, but died young under suspicious circumstances
Only disagreement on placement is Rollins in the top 3, especially at #1 ahead of Bird.
Couldn’t beleive you didn’t include the father of the tenor sax…. Coleman Hawkins
This list is missing Fela Kuti in spot 4 or 5. Boot Ayler in my opinion.
Art Pepper definitely deserves a mention.
Hey aren´t we missing Ben Webster here? Nobody Swings like him
No way Sonny Rollins, as great as he is, gets the nod over John Coltrane.
JOHNNY HODGES – NUFF SAID!
how bout kenny g?
Illinois Jacquet
Gene Ammons
Cannonball Adderly
Boney James
Grover Washington Jr.
Stan Getz
Kirk Whalem
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Jay Beckenstein of Spyro Gyra. A sound all their own and a master of the sax. Saw him play a clarinet and sax both, at once! Amazing
Would you know the name of a famous sax player who had a big hit out in the late sixties ?
Amazed by some of the omissions from the top 50. I know the challenge is who would you take out but Lee Konitz, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Criss, John Handy, Joshua Redman, Joe Lovano, Horace Silver, there are just too many missing.
The Bird
Cannonball and stitt! 😊
Seriously? No one on that list I could listen to for more than a half an hour without crying for mercy. Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Scott Hamilton….
Where is Hank Mobley? He deserves better than this…!
Rootatoot back again..one of the most influential has got to be Mr. David Sanborn the baddest white to pick up an alto sax.
Missed the best. Al Galladoro
He played what nobody Elsa could
How on Earth you missed Stanley Turrentine? To me he is among the best Saxophonists ever. Can’t hear enough of him.
Marsh and Konitz were a revolutionary couple with great sound and technical prowess. Rollins, as much as I do value him because of his ingenuity and compositional verve, has not invented new ways of playing, which the two kings of the sax did: to me Parker and Coltrane share no. 1 and I like their sound just the best, it pierces the heart where Rollins and Marsh and Konitz caress it, but these five are at the top for me. Sam Rivers just does not grab me with his thin tone and derived solo’s and Brötzman, well, a bit too one minded for me yet impressive, for the rest a nice top ten. To clarify my input, I like Eric Doplhy a lot, but agree with Miles a bit when it comes to his vocalizing: sometimes a bit grating, which is almost never the case with Coltrane, though I wished he had directly taken the course of Stellar Regions after Love Supreme instead of blowing his head of together with the terrible Sanders.
I must add that Pharao Sanders later on was very good! And Dolphy’s playing on his bass clarinet is devilish heavenly to my ears…
bobby keyes
Eddie”lockjaw” Davis, Johnny Griffin and Harold Land should be mentioned.
What’s wonderful about this thread’s controversy is what great instruments saxes are! They really bring out the best and most creative things in musos, otherwise there wouldn’t be so much argument about the top 10 or top 50 sax players. You couldn’t imagine that much controversy about the top 50 trumpeters or trombonists.
For my part, you need to add Phil Woods, Sadao Watanabe and Richie Cole to the list (I’m mainly an alto player, as you might have guessed). And why didn’t Ben Webster, Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan make the top 10?
Candy dulfer