The greatest saxophone player of all time…..
Certainly up for debate. But a number of saxophone players are definitely contenders.
Saw a poll on Sax on the web about who the greatest sax player ever is. Here are their results:
Charlie Parker | 48 | 27.75% |
Ornette Coleman | 0 | 0% |
John Coltrane | 38 | 21.97% |
Brecker | 18 | 10.40% |
Mule and Rascher | 10 | 5.78% |
Branford Marsalis | 3 | 1.73% |
Lester Young | 11 | 6.36% |
Plas Johnson | 1 | 0.58% |
Cannonball Adderley | 14 | 8.09% |
So Charlie Parker and John Coltrane get the top two spots. Makes sense. The other players on the list certainly sound great as well. Who do you think should also rank in the top tiers?
A few more contenders I would add to the list of possibilities would be-
Coleman Hawkins
Stanley Turrentine
Stan Getz
Sonny Stitt
Joe Henderson
Dexter Gordon
James Moody
Paul Desmond
Hank Mobley
Eddie Harris
Wayne Shorter
Sonny Rollins
Grover Washington Jr.
Benny Carter
Gene Ammons
Maceo Parker
Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis
King Curtis
Jimmy Heath
Jr. Walker
Louis Jordan
Gerry Mulligan
Illinois Jacquet
Earl Bostic
Johnny Hodges
Art Pepper
Some of these I like personally, my favorite is Stanley Turrentine. Others were suggested by visitors to Sax Station.
Feel free to add a comment of your own.
It’s somewhat a question of taste. Charlie Parker and John Coltrane were pioneers of bebop though.
Another question might be who you think the greatest living saxophone player is.