FAVOURITE TENOR PLAYERS

Here is a list of my all time favourite tenor saxophone players:

Johnny Griffin

Eddie Lockjaw Davis

Ben Webster

Lester Young

Scott Hamilton

John Coltrane

Arnett Cobb

Eric Alexander

Yes, there are some notable omissions including Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Sal Nistico, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt. Here is the great thing about Jazz its completely subjective. Sometimes someone's playing just does not appeal and there's no real explanation. I have owned a few Sonny Rollins discs and tried really hard to get into him but just couldnt. On the other side Stitt's tenor playing really appealed to me and I spent many hours transcribing dozens of his solos. So you might ask why I havent included him in my list of all time favourite players. Simple, after listening to so much Stitt I simply cant stand to hear it anymore! I had a similar experience after emersing myself in Phil Woods recordings - sorry Phil.

Each of the players above hold a different appeal for me. Johnny Griffin for his sound and incredible technique, Lockjaw for his sound and ideas, Ben Webster for ballads, Lester Young for the way he keeps the melody close, Scott Hamilton (early period) for that big big sound, Coltrane for sound, technique, ideas and innovation (I could listen to the Soultrane record all day and never get tired), Arnett Cobb for his bluesy feeling and sound and Eric Alexander for all of the above.

Let me know your thoughts.