The 50 Best Jazz Saxophonists Of All Time

[Hardbopjazz]

Lists are so subjective. There are few names that belong on this list. Billy Harper comes to mind.

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/50-best-jazz-saxophonists/

50: Gato Barbieri  

49: Pepper Adams 

48: Rahsaan Roland Kirk 

47: Pharoah Sanders 

46: Gerry Mulligan 

45: Michael Brecker

44: Jan Garbarek 

43: Joe Lovano

42. Arthur Blythe 

41: Jimmy Heath

40: Charles Lloyd 

39: Yusef Lateef 

38: Harold Land

37: Lee Konitz

36: Illinois Jacquet

35: Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis 

34: Al Cohn 

33: Benny Carter

32. Gary Bartz 

31: Sam Rivers

30: Ike Quebec

29: Lou Donaldson

28: Stanley Turrentine

27: Paul Desmond 

26: Earl Bostic 

25: Sidney Bechet

24: Eric Dolphy 

23: Albert Ayler

22: Zoot Sims 

21: Gene Ammons 

20: Benny Golson 

19: Cannonball Adderley 

18: Hank Crawford

17: Sonny Stitt 

16: Ben Webster

15: Wayne Shorter

14: Ornette Coleman 

13: Jackie McLean

12: Johnny Hodges

11: Joe Henderson

10: Johnny Griffin 

9: Hank Mobley 

8: Art Pepper 

7: Coleman Hawkins

6: Lester Young 

5: Dexter Gordon 

4: Stan Getz 

3: Sonny Rollins

2: John Coltrane 

1: Charlie Parker

 

 

 

[GA Russell]

I would put higher...

R. Roland Kirk
Gerry Mulligan
Michael Brecker
Al Cohn
Paul Desmond
Wayne Shorter

 

I would put lower...

Dexter Gordon
Hank Mobley
Johnny Griffin
Jackie McLean
Sonny Stitt
Hank Crawford
Albert Ayler
Earl Bostic

[Chuck Nessa]

To repeat my Facebook response last week - Sigh!

[jlhoots]

2 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

To repeat my Facebook response last week - Sigh!

I agree with Chuck!!

[BillF]

No Wardell?

[JSngry]

Yeah, well, lists, record company/hipster fornications, and no Don Byas, two wrongs don't make a right, three lefts do, but left off is not getting off, much less getting right, so let me amplify Chuck's sentiment to a fully enunciated fuck it. Then I read the comments and hope I die before it gets any more stupid. However, being a reactive person by nature, my luck won't be that good.

This is all fake news, btw. Might not be Russian, but it's still fake. There is no such thing as The 50 Best Jazz Saxophonists Of All Time, it don't work like that, and if it does, then I repeat - fuck it.

[John L]

I love Dex, used to never miss his concerts, and have virtually all his records.  But how can they objectively justify putting him above Pres and Hawk?.  No problem preferring Dex as a matter of taste but...                         I would say the same for Getz.