Soprano sax players

Bobby G · Oct 13, 2006

I've been having a lot of fun playing my soprano sax this week. What soprano sax-players are there out there for me to listen to?

Cheers, Bob

ken_aust · Oct 13, 2006

Bob,
For me, the greatest is John Harle. Nothing to touch him.
His sound is absolutely wonderful.He gets that Cor Anglais sound which for me is the perfect Soprano Sax sound. None of your snake charmers, nanny goat vibrato with him. He is the King.

Ken Aust

Bobby G · Oct 13, 2006

I think I know what you mean by the 'snake charmer' sound, I've discovered it's easier to get on straight soprano. So I play my curved one. I try not to make it too piercing (man) or cheesy and am going for a rounded kind of sound.

Any more?

Cheers, Bob

Dylan · Oct 13, 2006

Andy Sheppard - fantastic tone 😛

oliver_bentley · Oct 13, 2006

courtney pine's sop sound is immense, in a wierd kind of way, very distinct and indevidual.

Bobby G · Oct 13, 2006

Interesting that no-one has mentioned those two titans of the soprano, namely John Coletrane and Ken E Gee.

I like Coltrane's playing but wouldn't want to play that way myself. I'm trying for something a little less frantic and more lyrical.

Cheers, Bob

rhysonsax · Oct 14, 2006

Some favourites of mine, many of them doublers:

Michael Hashim
John Surman
Budd Johnson
Lucky Thompson
Johnny Hodges (until he gave up, apparently because Duke wouldn't pay him extra for doubling)
Roland Kirk (Manzello)
Sidney Bechet (of course)
Steve Lacy
Joe Temperley
Jan Garbarek
Wayne Shorter
Cannonball Adderley (not often)
Zoot Simms
Soprano Summitt (Bob Wilber and Kenny Davern)
Jim Galloway

tengu01 · Oct 14, 2006

Sidney Bechet is held up as a great early soprano player, but he does sound like he's sitting on a washing machine during spin cycle.

I like Branford Marsalis' soprano work, you can hear him on a lot of the Sting early back cataloge as well as on his own albums.

Pete Thomas · Oct 14, 2006

I've noticed that in any list of soprano players, King Curtis is missed out. (AlthoughI guess it's a Saxello he plays I think).

Just listen to Soul Serenade

Bobby G · Oct 14, 2006

A saxello is a different-shaped soprano, isn't it? As is a manzello?

I'm sure that someone in ***!!!read next few words at your peril!!!*** the Soft Machine played a saxello. Elton Dean or Karl Jenkins?

Finally, does anyone know what a pixiephone is? Someone plays it on one of those eccentric ***!!! careful now!!!*** Brit-prog lp's by Henry Cow or Hatfield and the North. It may just be a whimsical term for a soprano, blummen artschool hippies :>)

Cheers, Bob

ken_aust · Oct 14, 2006

Bob, a pixiephone is a saxophone as played by fairies,
and there are a good deal of them about.
Bend for a friend week.

Ken Aust

lee_ · Oct 19, 2006

One of the few players to make an entire career on the sop was Steve Lacy, who I believe died a couple years ago. He did a lot of stuff with Mal Waldren on piano and played in various groups, including Monk's. I think he had about the best soprano tone ever. Although he tried a lot of far out groove stuff, his soprano never sounded obnoxious, which is a characteristic of most who try to play it, IMO.

howell68 · Nov 21, 2006

check out king curtis playing "whiter shade of pale" on soprano on the soundtrack to "Withnail and I" Fantastic. He was also a very underated altoist. His best stuff is on Atlantic and is almost all deleted apart from "Live at the Filmore West" which is well worth checking out.

howell68 · Nov 21, 2006

Lee wrote:
One of the few players to make an entire career on the sop was Steve Lacy, who I believe died a couple years ago. He did a lot of stuff with Mal Waldren on piano and played in various groups, including Monk's. I think he had about the best soprano tone ever. Although he tried a lot of far out groove stuff, his soprano never sounded obnoxious, which is a characteristic of most who try to play it, IMO.

Couldn't agree more about Lacy. He was featured on an album of monk tunes by "anthony Brown's Asian American orchestra" which is one of my faves and was one of Downbeat magazines 4 albums of the year in 2004 (I think)