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- Charlie Parker. 832 votes. Charlie "Bird" Parker, a towering figure in the world of jazz, was a true pioneer of the bebop genre. With his virtuosic playing and advanced harmonic concepts, he had an immense impact on the way saxophone was played and perceived.
- John Coltrane. 1,031 votes. John Coltrane, a monumental figure in jazz, elevated the art of saxophone playing to new spiritual and technical levels. Known for his relentless practice regimen, Coltrane developed a highly personalized sound characterized by his "sheets of sound" technique and complex harmonic explorations.
- Sonny Rollins. 524 votes. Sonny Rollins is a living legend, known for his distinctive tenor saxophone sound that combines both melodic ingenuity and harmonic sophistication.
- Lester Young. 376 votes. Lester "Pres" Young redefined the art of tenor saxophone playing with his smooth, relaxed sound and innovative melodic ideas. As a key member of the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1930s, Young's distinctive style – characterized by cool, laid-back phrasing and an inventive approach to harmony – inspired generations of musicians and served as a precursor to the West Coast jazz movement.
- Gato Barbieri
- Pepper Adams
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk
- Pharoah Sanders
- Gerry Mulligan
- Michael Brecker
- Jan Garbarek
- Joe Lovano
- Arthur Blythe
- Jimmy Heath
With his raw, wailing tenor sax sound, Argentina-born Leandro “Gato” Barbieri plowed a Coltrane-esque avant-garde furrow in the late 60s before making a more accessible form of music that embraced his Latin American roots. From the 70s onwards, Barbieri leaned towards smooth jazz settings for his music, though his brooding tenor saxophone never los...
Baritone specialist Park “Pepper” Adams came from Michigan and was a stalwart of the Detroit scene, where he played with Donald Byrd in the late 50s and early 60s. An in-demand sideman due to the deep sonorities and dark textures he created on his baritone sax, Adams was an integral member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra between 1966 and 1977...
Regarded as an eccentric blind maverick by some for functioning as a one-man band on stage (he could play three horns at once and had a variety of exotic instruments dangling from his neck and shoulders), Kirk’s multi-tasking skills meant that his prowess on the saxophone has been overlooked. He was, though, a superb tenor saxophonist who was at ho...
An acolyte of John Coltrane (with whom he played between 1965 and ’67), tenor/soprano saxophonist and flutist Sanders helped to bring both a cosmic and deep spiritual vibe to jazz in the late 60s and early 70s. A prolific purple patch at the Impulse! label between 1969 and 1974 (which yielded ten LPs) cemented his place in the pantheon of best jazz...
Mulligan’s resonant baritone sax appeared on countless recording sessions during his long and fertile career, including those by Miles Davis, Billie Holiday,and Dave Brubeck. Mulligan was an astute arranger and skilled innovator too, conceiving a piano-less quartet with Chet Baker, in 1950. He was integral to the more relaxed West Coast cool style.
Hailing from Pennsylvania, Brecker was a tenor saxophonist who was raised on a diet of jazz and rock so that, consequently, he never acknowledged musical boundaries. He played on a raft of pop and rock sessions in the 70s (for everyone from Steely Danto Art Garfunkel), as well as co-leading the funky Brecker Brothers Band with his younger sibling, ...
This eminent Norwegian composer and saxophonist (who’s a master of both the tenor and soprano varieties of sax) has enjoyed a long and fecund association with the ECM label, where he’s been since 1970. It was largely through his alliance with Keith Jarrett in the 70s (he played as part of the pianist’s European Quartet) that gained him an internati...
The youngest-born entry among the world’s best jazz saxophonists, Ohio-born Lovano can play a clutch of different instruments, though his name is synonymous with the tenor saxophone. The sound he projects is substantial but also athletic and imbued with a heart-tugging soulfulness. Lovano is a supremely versatile musician who has played in a welter...
Brought up on a strict diet of rhythm’n’blues, this Los Angeles altoist played in the bands of Gil Evans and Chico Hamilton before making his mark as a proponent of avant-garde jazz in the late 70s. Even so, while his music always looked forward, Blythe never lost sight of the traditions of the best jazz saxophonists before him. As well as having a...
One of three noted jazz musician siblings (his brothers are drummer Percy and bassist Albert Heath), this Philly saxophonist started his career in the 40s and switched from alto to tenor sax to try and avoid comparisons with fellow bebopper Charlie Parker (Heath was dubbed Little Bird for a time). Heath has played with all the jazz greats (from Mil...
- Charles Waring
- Adolphe Sax. The first-ever saxophone player was the man who invented it — Adolphe Sax, a Belgian musical instrument maker in the 1800s. The son of both mother and father instrument makers, Sax started making instruments as a young boy, making his own flute and clarinet by the age of 15 and then performing on them at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
- John Coltrane. Up next is the legendary composer and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He was influenced by the blues music of the small town he grew up in and the gospel music of his church.
- Charlie Parker. Known as “Bird” or “Yardbird,” Charlie Parker was a trailblazer in the world of jazz, credited with the invention of bebop. He was born in 1920 in Kansas and took music lessons at public schools.
- Candy Dulfer. Jumping forward a few decades, we have up next the famous female saxophonist Candy Dulfer, daughter of well-known Dutch jazz tenor saxophonist Hans Duffer, who is a modern pop saxophonist from the Netherlands.
- Charlie Parker. Chasin' The Bird. Though this list isn’t going in any specific order of greatness, Charlie Parker still belongs at the top. He lived only for 34 years, but in that short time, he became known as the Father of Bebop and one of the greatest alto sax players of all time.
- John Coltrane. Equinox. This jazz giant from the 1950s and 1960s made a name for himself on the tenor sax when he played with Miles Davis and developed his own style.
- Wayne Shorter. Footprints (Remastered) This powerhouse performer is one of the most influential saxophonists to have lived. He has shown up to nearly every innovative jazz event in history, always ready to put his musical spin on new things that have come into the genre.
- Dexter Gordon. Dexter Gordon - Body and Soul (4K 60 FPS Colorized & Restored Audio) Dexter Gordon will be remembered for at least two things: being a revolutionary tenor sax player and being incredibly tall.
The best jazz saxophonist of all time. 1. John Coltrane (1926-1967) Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. Leading our list of best jazz saxophonists is a name you will surely know. It’s hard to convey the impact John Coltrane’s My Favorite Things made on its release in 1961. The title track caused a sensation.
Feb 14, 2017 · 4. Lester Young He was one of the three original giants of the tenor saxophone, along with Webster and Hawkins, but Lester Young separated himself with a sweet tone and a buoyant sense of rhythm ...
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Mar 17, 2023 · Lester Young, also known as “Prez”, was an influential saxophonist and clarinetist who helped to shape the sound of jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. 6. Wayne Shorter. Wayne Shorter is a legendary saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who has been at the forefront of jazz for over six decades.
