Your favorite TENOR player on the scene today

[Rooster_Ties]

Thought about starting a poll -- but figured it'd be more fun if the question was open-ended.

Who's your favorite tenor-player on the scene today, but he (or she) has to have been born after 1954.

Discuss...

(When in doubt, allmusic.com has birth-dates for most musicians, or at least most of the best-known ones.)

Edited October 10, 2004 by Rooster_Ties

[Bright Moments]

james carter. consistent excellence! B-)

[jazzmessenger]

Although James Carter plays all kinds of instruments, I'd say my favorite tenor player today is J.C.

[B. Goren.]

No doubt: David Murray (born Feb 19, 1955).

[Rooster_Ties]

On first glance, I'm tempted to say Gary Thomas (born June 10th, 1961), but I probably need to consider some other choices before I decide on a final choice.

Or maybe Chris Potter (born on New Years Day, 1971), perhaps -- though it's funny that I really like Potter a great deal in some contexts (in Dave Holland's quintet, and with Dave Douglas), but not as much in others (Potter's own recordings, or at least those I've heard - though I probably need to hear more).

I'll have to mull it over some more, and see what other names come up in this thread.

[Rooster_Ties]

No doubt: David Murray (born Feb 19, 1955).

I'm curious who else you might have said, had Murray been born a couple years earlier (meaning had he already turned 50 a couple years ago).

In other words, would you care to offer up another name for us?? (though you are hereby officially on record as being strongly in Murray's camp -- which I'm not trying to dispute in any way). Who's your second choice?? (Humor me, thanks!!)

[cannonball-addict]

Chris Potter - hands down. If you're a saxophone player, you've gotta acknowledge at least that he's top 5. But he's my #1. Then Mark Turner, then David Sanchez then Billy Pierce (I think he's still under 50).

The King of Denmark thinks so too - youngest musician to recieve the JAZZPAR Prize.

[B. Goren.]

No doubt: David Murray (born Feb 19, 1955).

I'm curious who else you might have said, had Murray been born a couple years earlier (meaning had he already turned 50 a couple years ago).

In other words, would you care to offer up another name for us?? (though you are hereby officially on record as being strongly in Murray's camp -- which I'm not trying to dispute in any way). Who's your second choice?? (Humor me, thanks!!)

James Carter is my 2ed choice. In general, I prefer the young generation of alto players: Antonio Hart and Donald Harrison, over the tenor players (i.e. Chris Potter, Eric Alexander etc).

[king ubu]

Von Freeman, I don't know him for more than Fifty years yet...

Listening right now to some Eskelin, and love him! High on my list, for sure, but there are others. I like Mark Turner a lot, too, as well as Chris Potter. There ought to be a handful of more, what shall I say, "funny-ratty" ones?

[mikeweil]

That's a hard question - I have to admit none of these guys moves my soul as much as Prez, or Lucky Thompson. But that's very hard to do ...

I like James Carter a lot, too, and Billy Pierce, whose first on Sunnyside is excellent.

Rick Margitza's tone gets to me, instantly.

There are many great cats, methinks, but it is so much harder to get a disctinctive sound and conception these days.

[B. Goren.]

That's a hard question - I have to admit none of these guys moves my soul as much as Prez, or Lucky Thompson. But that's very hard to do ...

Mike, I could not express it better.

[mikeweil]

Just found my tenor sax timetable, and Pierce was born in 1948 ....

Forgot to mention Joshua Redman - he didn't invent the horn, but swings and has good spirits and all. I simply enjoy listening to him.

[king ubu]

That's a hard question - I have to admit none of these guys moves my soul as much as Prez, or Lucky Thompson. But that's very hard to do ...

I like James Carter a lot, too, and Billy Pierce, whose first on Sunnyside is excellent.

Rick Margitza's tone gets to me, instantly.

There are many great cats, methinks, but it is so much harder to get a disctinctive sound and conception these days.

Perfectly right. That's why my first mention did go to Freeman - he's at least still "on the scene today". Another would be Wayne Shorter.

How about Mars Williams (too old I suppose?) or Mats Gustafsson?

Margitza I like as well, Mark Shim would be another good one. Bennie Wallace and Joe Lovano both are too old, I suppose.

[JohnS]

No question; it's David Murray. He just gets in, he's 50 next February.

I've had the pleasure of folowing his career live and on record for almost 30 years. He's always comes up with the goods. He's back playing in London in November.

[mikeweil]

Your Royal Highness: Here is a table of tenor saxists I started to compile after our recent exchange of PM's on tenor saxers:

Maupin Bennie 1940

Sanders Pharoah 1940

Harper Billy 1943

Watts Ernie 1945

Klemmer John 1946

Liebman Dave 1946

Wallace Bennie 1946

Garbarek Jan 1947

Pierce Bill 1948

Brecker Michael 1949

Freeman Chico 1949

Ware David S. 1949

Bergonzi Jerry 1950

Berg Bob 1951-2002

Grossman Steve 1951

Lovano Joe 1952

Mintzer Bob 1953

Hamilton Scott 1954

Murray David 1955

Shull Tadd 1955

Moore Ralph 1956

Sheppard Andy 1957

Eskelin Ellery 1959

Marsalis Branford 1960

Margitza Rick 1961

Thomas Gary 1961

Vandermark Ken 1964

Gustafsson Mats 1964

Coltrane Ravi 1965

Jackson Javon 1965

Turner Mark 1965

Allen Harry 1966

Smith Tommy 1967

Speed Chris 1967

Alexander Eric 1968

Blake Seamus 1969

Tsahar Assif 1969

Carter James 1969

Redman Joshua 1969

Potter Chris 1971

Please help me fill in the birth years of anybody missing.

Edited October 10, 2004 by mikeweil

[JohnS]

AAJ gives 16 August 1959 for Eskelin.

[king ubu]

Eskelin Ellery (1959)

Seamus Blake (1969)

Chris Speed (1967)

Gregory Tardy (year?)

Assif Tsahar (1969)

Ken Vandermark (1964)

Mats Gustafsson (1964)

Chris Cheek (year?)

VDMK wouldn't be considered favorite by many, I guess. More of a catalyst than a tenor great. Tardy has a vey nice album on Palmetto, Blake does some good things now and then (I love the Bloomdaddies' Criss Cross disc).

ubu

edited to spell Gustafsson's name correctly and add Chris Cheek

Edited October 9, 2004 by king ubu

[king ubu]

AAJ gives 16 August 1959 for Eskelin.

So does Ellery's website.

[mikeweil]

Yeah, Seamus Blake is nice!

But does anybody here know anything about one Steve Hall - he played tenor alongside Blake on Kevin Hays' 1995 Blue Note CD "go round". He has a fantsatic, huge sound - but I can't seem to find any other recording?!?!

[jazzmessenger]

Chris Potter - hands down. If you're a saxophone player, you've gotta acknowledge at least that he's top 5. But he's my #1. Then Mark Turner, then David Sanchez then Billy Pierce (I think he's still under 50).

The King of Denmark thinks so too - youngest musician to recieve the JAZZPAR Prize.

I forgot about David Sanchez. I really love his music, too. I would say he is my second choice.

[Larry Kart]

Walt Weiskopf -- lots of consistently fine albums on Criss Cross. He's out of sheets-of-sound Trane and early Wayne, but he's laid a personal intervallic system on top of this (written a book about it too, FWIW). Normally, I don't respond to playing that's got such a systematized base, but Walt's is sure inspiring to him, harmonically, melodically, and rhythmically; at best, all those elements are fused into what seems to be a single ball of energy. And does he ever swing!

Tim Armacost -- big-toned, out of Rollins and Trane (you probably can't go both those ways at once, but he kind of does). "Live at Smalls" and "The Wishing Well," both on Double Time, are the places to go, esp. the latter. I think there may be a new one too. As with Weiskopf, there's a sense of an underlying system at work (perhaps more akin, though, to the way Hawkins and Byas went about things -- extensions upon extensions, which then have melodic and rhythmic offshoots/consequences), but all this, again, is inspiring to the player himself. Weiskopf and Armacost's solos usually sound to me like much-is-at-risk adventures. If I don't get that feeling from a player, I'm usually gone.

[Peter F]

Eric Alexander and Harry Allen.

After those two I would mention Don Braden.

Peter F

[ghost of miles]

Chris Potter - hands down. If you're a saxophone player, you've gotta acknowledge at least that he's top 5. But he's my #1. Then Mark Turner, then David Sanchez then Billy Pierce (I think he's still under 50).

The King of Denmark thinks so too - youngest musician to recieve the JAZZPAR Prize.

I forgot about David Sanchez. I really love his music, too. I would say he is my second choice.

jazzmessenger, did you know that Sanchez is coming here to Bloomington on Oct. 21? He'll be playing at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater downtown. More information here.

[montg]

I followed up Larry Kart's recommendation for Walt Weiskopf a while back and I've become a big fan of Weiskopf. In fact, I just picked up one of his Criss Cross CDs (Sleepless Nights) earlier this week. Michael Blake, Don Braden, and Eric Alexander all have CDs that I enjoy. I like Jimmy Greene too on the recent Jeremy Pelt and Ralph Peterson CDs.

Count me out of the James Carter camp (at least so far). I find his playing to be overheated, zig-zagging all over the place, without really going anywhere.

[Shawn]

I think I would have to go with Murray as well. I only discovered his work in the past couple years...but I've fallen madly in love with it.