10. Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson defined the Blue Note sound for
tenor saxophone in the 1960s. Starting in the hard bop tradition, he expanded into modal and free jazz, soul jazz, and eventually jazz fusion and funk all while maintaining his distinct voice. His hard playing and his frequent use of the half-tongue technique gave him a sound that was both tense and highly expressive. His use of repetition and flurried riffs with a modal approach to harmony made his playing catchy and relatable in some contexts, profound and meditative in others.
9. Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon brought about a new sound for the tenor
saxophone as the Swing Era moved into the Bebop Era. His relaxed, swaggering, behind-the-beat style and his sweet, warm sound brought a coolness and accessibility to the busy intricacy of bebop. His sound, especially his tone and feel, continues to influence new generations of saxophonists: Most modern jazz tenor players have studied at least one or two Dexter Gordon solos.
8. Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges, with his beautiful songbird alto sound and his controlled, lyrical, melodic playing, created a new paradigm for all saxophonists. Playing lead alto in Duke Ellington’s Orchestra for most of the band’s career, he defined the sound of the band’s horn section. Despite his prodigious technical facility with his instrument, his playing style favored slow, controlled, stylized melodic figures over faster, flashier lines. His long, smooth glissandos demonstrated the versatility of the instrument, and permanently introduced the technique into popular saxophone playing.
7. Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins, sometimes called the “Saxophone Colossus,” has bombastically charged forth as a vanguard for jazz music over the last 70 years. His huge, heavy, hard-hitting tone and his playful approach to soloing make his sound unique and instantly recognizable. He is an incredibly versatile player, seamlessly combining elements from different musical styles and traditions in his performances. His soloing style is whimsical and playful, often using small, simple motifs, and sliding freely around the rhythms of his band, favoring expressiveness over metronomic precision. His compositions are equally playful and motivic, and several have become jazz standards still played today.
6. Cannonball Adderley
Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, aptly nicknamed for his huge, boisterous sound on the alto saxophone, had just as huge of an impact on the jazz world. Working both with his own groups and Miles Davis’ first quintet, Cannonball Adderley helped shape the hard bop and soul jazz scenes of the 1950s and 60s, and continued to be an influence on jazz as a whole afterwards. He had total fluency on the saxophone with the languages of bebop and blues, and he was capable of incorporating these techniques into the rapidly changing jazz style with crystal clear confidence, executing his melodic ideas with flawless precision.
5. Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is a creative force of nature who used his saxophone playing to take music to another level. Rising to prominence in the 1960s as part of Art Blakey’s band and Miles Davis’ second quintet, he proved to be both a virtuosic saxophonist and a prolific composer early in his career. After writing quite a few songs which went on to become jazz classics still played and revered today, he continued, and still continues, to push forward creatively on the cutting edge of jazz music. His soloing style, unlike many jazz improvisers, is based not on familiar patterns or licks, but
on the music itself in the moment. This makes the lines that he plays often surprising and unexpected, but always musical and intentional. He famously said, “Composition is just improvisation slowed down,” which reflects his thoughtful approach to soloing.
4. Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins is responsible for the original jazz tenor saxophone sound. Starting his career in the early 1920s, he was on the forefront of jazz while it was still a very young style. His virtuosic technique and his warm, thick, rich tone earned him a place in the spotlight of jazz music for years as it was developing. His swing feel reflects the early styles of Hot Jazz and Gypsy Jazz, which were popular in the 20s and 30s, but his melodic ideas and soloing style were innovative for the time, and his playing and leadership helped sculpt the musical styles of the Swing Era and Bebop era in the 30s and 40s.
3. Lester Young
Lester Young was one of the original superstar tenor players of the classic Swing Era. Working with Count Basie’s band and later Fletcher Henderson’s, his sound came to define the tenor sound of the time, and set an example for tenor players in future generations. He broke the mold set by his predecessor Coleman Hawkins’ rich, full, dark sound, playing with a softer and purer tone.
2. Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker, with the help of a very small group of fellow musicians, invented the style of bebop in Harlem in the 1940s and ushered in a new era of jazz music. He changed the melodic approach to soloing from outlining and running through the chords to anticipating and weaving between the chords through a more complex harmonic understanding of the music. Despite being a notorious drug addict and alcoholic, he was also known to be an extremely diligent practicer, which gave him a thorough command over the saxophone. His solos were always very melodic, without repetition or any lack of intentionality even in his fastest playing. Some would call his soloing “perfect,” because his ideas, though improvised, are well composed within the chord changes and executed without mistakes. His musical ideas have informed not just alto players, but jazz musicians in general to this day.
1. John Coltrane
John Coltrane is the king of all saxophonists. Practicing to an extreme amount (legend has it he would frequently spend almost all his waking hours playing) made his technical ability unparalleled. His innovations in harmony and melodic patterns not only formed the basis for the modern tenor saxophone sound, it also helped shape the future of jazz, pushing in a new direction. He also furthered the discovery of certain extended techniques, such as overtones and false fingerings, altissimo, split tones and multiphonics. His pure, powerful, brilliant tone is unmistakable, and his style has been emulated by a great many saxophonists, both during his time and after.