Sax anybody?

[Hoerninger]

This thread is intended to talk about saxophonists.

I can hardly remember that saxophonists and their instruments have been mentioned here.
Saxophons can be played so differently. They fit very fine with horn speakers even with the poorer ones.
And they can sound so erotic.

Now on tour:

Sonny Rollins

26.11. Alte Oper, Frankfurt
28.11. Musikhalle, Hamburg
01.12. Philharmonie, Berlin
04.12. Tonhalle, Düsseldorf
06.12. Philharmonie, München
09.12. Tonhalle Zürich

___________
Peter

[Ducatista47]

Peter, great topic. But huge. Did you want to discuss living musicians we can still go see, or all sax players past and present?

I have posted and read about some players in "What's Playing" type threads, but a devoted thread excites me. Europe and America both have so much to offer. Any other Jan Garbarek fans out there? The ECM catalog is a gold mine of sax talent. How about Andy Sheppard?

As a self confessed Jazz head, I love the work of so many saxophone players... my head spins thinking about it! I think it is a foregone conclusion that Saxophone is the premier instrument in modern Jazz. And that Jazz players in general are required to work at a higher level than musicians in most other fields. To hear Coltrane, Dolphy, McLean, Brecker, Gilmore, Young, Coleman, Kirk, etc, etc is to hear the best that music has to offer. Jazz players are by nature more inventive than the average bear, and for many years the sax greats have broken new ground the most. That improvisational thing goes way beyond what mere interpretation of the written score can accomplish.

Can you tell I'm high on Jazz? If there are addiction treatment places to detox from Jazz, I want no part of them. Were great sax a pill, it should be the most prescribed medicine on Earth.

Sonny Rollins is a god! If players no longer with us count, the list of sax gods from the USA is very long.

Clark

[rdgrimes]

2 words:

Zoot Sims

[Rusnzha]

Two more -- Wayne Shorter. Also, Ravi Coltrane is amazing. Right on about Sonny Rollins. There are so many, but these two popped right up after reading this thread.

[Hoerninger]

... great topic. But huge.

Clark,

thank you for your respond, I did not know what I was doing. I am still a Jazz newbie, and there seems to be a universe ahead.

I simply saw the announcement of the Sonny Rollins tour, and they wrote that he is an important musician. I switched to YouTube to get an impression, and only a few beats later I knew he is amazing. Than I switched to Amazon and ordered a CD, and afterwards I posted in this forum.

And all started a short time ago with a colleagues request for a LP to CD transfer , he is a Jazz lover. I still see his face when I said, John Coltrain is ok.

I have no special idea for this thread, every info will be new for me.
____________
Peter

[Ducatista47]

I see, Peter. I should explain, or at least complete, the names I mentioned. They would be John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean, Michael Brecker, John Gilmore, Lester Young, Ornette Coleman and Roland Kirk.

Although some of these men were multi-instrumentalists, the tenor saxophone was the main instrument of all but Jackie McLean. He played an alto but had as much tone as a tenor player. McLean is the reason why I like alto as much as tenor playing. A monster.

Sax as a serious lead/solo instrument in jazz probably began with the tenor man Coleman Hawkins in the 1930's. The modern Jazz era began with the alto playing of Charlie Parker ("Bird"). By that I mean he figured out a new way to play music, not just his instrument.

Later, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, and Ornette Coleman also pioneered new ways to play. They were heavily influenced in this by virtue of familiarity with and admiration for Sun Ra, a bandleader and keyboard player. John Gilmore and Marshall Allen (alto) were the very advanced and groundbreaking sax players in Sun Ra's band, the Arkestra. But it was Sun Ra himself who insisted that everyone associated with him look not only back but relentlessly forward to find style and inspiration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkestra

(Rahsaan) Roland Kirk was a one of a kind musician - skillful, inspired, eclectic - and taken to playing two or three horns at once!

Who was Lester Young? Prez - President of the Saxophone. Always listed as both one of the best ever and one of the all-time favorite Jazzmen. If you don't like Lester Young you probably won't ever seriously like Jazz. I should add that I have never met a Jazz musician who did not think Prez was great. New listeners may find Prez easier to grasp and enjoy than most of the others named here. You can often hear him behind Billie Holiday, who admiringly named him Prez. Most tenor players of the mellow persuasion would very much like to be able to play like Lester Young, but they can't. He did it better than anybody.

Michael Brecker was the one tenor man who worked and practiced as hard as Coltrane. Read that insanely hard. While he did not invent a new way to play, his constant practicing and exploration, and great talent, brought him to be as good or better a technical player as Coltrane had been, a stunning achievement.

I am not saying that you would like all of these musicians or even one of them. I mention them because they are important to the development of Jazz in general and Jazz saxophone in particular. Heavy players are generally into heavy Jazz styles. Only Lester Young, of those named here, was gentle enough to consistently play behind vocalists. Bird did, but it was often like a storming sax intro and breaks sandwiched around the singer. Vocal performers are still rare in heavy Jazz styles. Most singers can neither keep up with nor compete with these fantastic instrumentalists. Well, Sun Ra employed singers but that was a different universe. (Or planet at least. He claimed to be from Saturn.) I am not saying it wasn't done, I don't know, but I can not imagine anyone singing with Eric Dolphy.

Wayne Shorter is as rewarding to listen to as any of these guys, as is Sonny Rollins. There are so many great ones.

Each of these guys deserve a post or ten at least, if anyone would like to step up. I know I'm not the only horn loving Jazz freak here!

Since you mentioned their instruments, we will have to discuss a Paris firm that stamps the name "Henri Selmer" on their horns.

Clark

[rdgrimes]

If you're into high-res audio, there's quite a few good re-issues still floating about on SACD/DVD-A.

Zoot Sims and Al Cohn: Either Way (24/96 DAD)
Time Out, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond (SACD)
Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers (SACD)
Getz/Gilberto (SACD)

All are re-masters with outstanding quality, and amazing bands. There's quite a few more around too.

[Ducatista47]

Try this list for a ton of great talent. The fan favorites below the list correct many omissions.

http://www.philbrodieband.com/muso_s...xophonists.htm

[Ducatista47]

Here is something for you, one of the most famous moments in Jazz. All of these players backing a soon to die Billie Holiday are great - and I mean great - but listen to what an also soon to die Lester Young plays for Billie. He is the hat-less man who stands up and plays the second solo immediately after the first. Everyone else in the session is on, playing true and strong, but listen to what Prez does with a few soft, perfectly put together notes. In the thirties and forties he played strong and boldly, but in the end it came to this. And this was no less than what came before. It takes so much control to play that softly and put so much into it. Genius. Beautiful.

It was kind of like the Gettysburg Address where the main orator spoke for well over an hour and President Lincoln then gave forth with "a few appropriate remarks."

The back story is written if you click (more info) on the right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tNSp...eature=related

Clark

[Hoerninger]

Just got Charlie Parker "In a soulful mood" (starting with Moose the Mooche) ...

Clark,
thank you for your comprehensive introduction! There is still a lot to explore and to listen to.
Lester Young's last solo for Billie is awesome!

Kindest regards
Peter

[Mannermusic]

Pepper Adams! Bop master partner with trumpeter Donald Byrd (Detroit native). Straight ahead, snarling, fun, none better on the baritone jazz saxophone. Mike

[pentictonklaus]

I make a motion for Jan Gabarek. All of his music.

Klaus

[hjames]

I make a motion for Jan Gabarek. All of his music.

Klaus

I have a number of his albums, but this weekend I listened to the album with the Hilliard Ensemble,
and frankly, the sax is mixed too loud and just floods over top of the vocal harmonies ... its piercing in places!

But I love "Runes" and much of his other work ...

[pentictonklaus]

[quote=hjames;231349]I have a number of his albums, but this weekend I listened to the album with the Hilliard Ensemble, and frankly, the sax is mixed too loud and just floods over top of the vocal harmonies ... its piercing in places!

But I love "Runes" and much of his other work ...



I agree, the Hillard was a big hit. The sound quality could be better.
I sounds allright with smith horns and 2445 drivers. Little sharp on the 2344 in my 4435. The voices could use more dynamics.

All other albums ( that I heard ) are good sound quality.

Klaus

[Ducatista47]

Still my favorite Garbarek sessions. ECM 1060 & 1095.

http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/...ch=%2Bsolstice

http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/...inrubchooser=3

Recorded in 1974 and 1977, a young Jan Garbarek was part of Ralph Towner's Solstice pickup group. Bass legend Eberhard Weber and brilliant ECM drummer Jon Christensen brought the group to a quartet. The music is first rate and Jan was such a young lion. Compared to his later work, Jan's playing is downright fierce.

Sound And Shadows is by far the darker of the two and probably has a more melancholy appeal.

I really enjoy Jan's dry, keening tone. Some jazz musicians I have known run the other way, as he deliberately plays a tone most avoid producing at all costs. They want warmth and breath in it, as if everyone still wants to be Coleman Hawkins. If you do not like Jan's tone, his opposite was Paul Desmond (alto, not tenor like Jan) and you might enjoy Paul's playing with Dave Brubeck and later as a leader.

To this day, I believe Garbarek has recorded only for ECM.

Clark