Great Players Who sparked your love of Sax music

[Saxlicker]

nachoman wrote:

Bobby G wrote:
Add to my list of original inspirations (how could I have forgotten??) dear old Bloomdido Bad De Grass, a.k.a. Didier Malherbe, also Nik Turner not so much for his playing as his philosophy, which is 'I just dig freaking around on saxophones'.

If you've got a blacklist I want to be on it.

Your signature... It's a song quote but what's the song? It's bugging me...

Billy Bragg?

 

[Bobby G]

nachoman wrote:

Bobby G wrote:
Add to my list of original inspirations (how could I have forgotten??) dear old Bloomdido Bad De Grass, a.k.a. Didier Malherbe, also Nik Turner not so much for his playing as his philosophy, which is 'I just dig freaking around on saxophones'.

If you've got a blacklist I want to be on it.

Your signature... It's a song quote but what's the song? It's bugging me...

It's from Billy Bragg's "Waiting For The Great Leap Forward" BV's by Phill Jupitus aka Porky the Poet.

15 points and some slightly used La voz medium reeds for getting the other signature song-quote

 

[Taz]

Wesley Mcgoogan, Raphael Ravenscroft and Candy Dulfer are some of the influences for me, but I still get my kicks listening to "Blue Lou" Marini and the likes of Steve Marcus. Oh and not to forget Ben "taz" Webster :laugh: Ta Jools 😉 I just love his style

 

[Mikec]

Chris Jones wrote:

dooce wrote:

griff136 wrote:
Stan Getz the Bossa nova years done it for me.

Same here, but it was his Focus album that really pricked my ears up.

Three for Stan. Bossa Nova for me too.

Four.

 

[zombie_apocalypse]

dick parry,
i was really high, and really bummed out about being unable to play guitar due to a finger injury, and his solo to money and the thought that sax keys would be easier on the finger kinda simultaneously went through my head, so the next day i went out and bought one

 

[Pjonah]

The list is endless well almost, I had influences within my own family aslo but I guess the most well known being, in no particular order or preference:

Tex Beneke, Paul Desmond, Andy Mackay, Dick Parry (Namesake), Gerry Mulligan, Eddy Lockjaw Davis, Mike Burney, Nick Pentelow, Davey Payne, Pete King, Ben Webster, Stan Getz.......and so on.

I guess if I had to pick one which most made want to start the sax it would have to be Andy Mackay having sneaked into a concert at Chippenham Technical College in 1972 and watched Roxy Music Live. I think Andy would probably admit he is not the most accomplished, but what he did was so right for Roxy in the early years with Eno, it just clicked!

 

[Col]

Courtney Pine, Jazz Cafe, Camden, Christmas Eve gig back in around '93-4? That was a great party....

One song that did it for me was 'Redemption Song', it was a one of those moments when I knew I had to learn how to do that.

Still haven't though 🙁

 

[TomMapfumo]

I was originally enthused by Ron Aspery of Back Door fame, on their 1st album in 1973. Before I got married in 1990 I had been keen on both Andy Sheppard (First Album) and Tommy Smith(First Album). I took the Sheppard record to listen to when buying a Naim Hi-Fi system (wedding gift), and the chap at the shop said "If you like this you will probably like Jan Garbarek". He was absolutely right, and have grown into European jazz since then, and he is definitely my main inspiration. My wife, who plays piano, loves Yann Tiersen.

Tom 8)

 

[AlanU]

Johnny Hodges.
I heard his playing on Duke Ellington's Magenta Haze.
As I was thinking this, I just put the track on.

It is so sexy!

I'd forgotten just how good this is.
I bought my copy on Music for Pleasure, aged about sixteen.
Hmm, now I'm back on the alto I must listen to more of him.

 

[o_c_v_]

O.C.V. wrote:

AlanU wrote:

Johnny Hodges.
I heard his playing on Duke Ellington's Magenta Haze.
As I was thinking this, I just put the track on.

It is so sexy!

I'd forgotten just how good this is.
I bought my copy on Music for Pleasure, aged about sixteen.
Hmm, now I'm back on the alto I must listen to more of him.

I think I messed that up a bit. What I meant to write was that I agree totally about Hodges. I was lucky enough to see him with Ellington several times. What a thrill! His tone and power were amazing. He and Harry Carney were responsible for the Ellingto sound, in my opinion.

 

[old_git]

O.C.V. wrote:

O.C.V. wrote:

AlanU wrote:

Johnny Hodges.
I heard his playing on Duke Ellington's Magenta Haze.
As I was thinking this, I just put the track on.

It is so sexy!

I'd forgotten just how good this is.
I bought my copy on Music for Pleasure, aged about sixteen.
Hmm, now I'm back on the alto I must listen to more of him.

I think I messed that up a bit. What I meant to write was that I agree totally about Hodges. I was lucky enough to see him with Ellington several times. What a thrill! His tone and power were amazing. He and Harry Carney were responsible for the Ellingto sound, in my opinion.

Young Billy Strayhorn will be disappointed.

 

[AlanU]

I read that on Hodges death Ellington said 'My band will never sound the same again'.
As indeed it wouldn't.

You're obviously a big Ellington fan.
I have a great feeling for the Webster-Blanton period.

Do you agree, though that he was a great play-actor.
Something that most people dare not say, for fear of accusations of heresy.
Great composer and very influential figure in the music, but a supreme kidder too.
And lousy band-leader, unable or unwilling to control the excesses of his 'star players' who often seemed to take the p**s.
This seems to be true of Hodges who was always resentful and surly. Great player though.

All of my heroes have feet of clay.
Some of them seem to have heads of the same material, alas.

 

[Mamos]

I know that a lot of us think of the jazz greats when we think of great sax players but what track or player was the initial spark that lit the flame of love for the sax and sax music.

I think it was the sax part in careless whisper played by Steve Gregory that started it all and the the sax solo from "Will you" by Hazel O Conner can't remember who the sax player was but someone will tell me

Who was it for you?

mamos

 

[old git]

Fats Domino's Sax section on Blueberry Hill and I'm not sucking up to Pete, not sure if he was born, just couldn't afford one back then.
Only when I got old and crotchety and learnt how a Zimmer frame could be used as a weapon of Mass Destruction for terrifying teenagers and obtaining Voluntary Contributions, that one could be afforded.
Still can't play the riff, any chance of a lesson, Pete?

 

[losaavedra]

1957 Jimmy Guiffre Train and the River ... still switches me on! Paul Desmond too with Dave Brubeck. Fifty years on I finally got myself an alto ... way too long a wait!

 

[Mamos]

1957 Jimmy Guiffre Train and the River ... !

You star

That is a fantastic piece of music and is still one of my favourites but I was already a big sax fan before hearing it for the first time

In fact I think I will listen to it now🙂

After Dexter Gordon has finished.

mamos

 

[xMelx]

Coleman Hawkins Mon Homme.

Benny Carters Swing it.

 

[half diminished]

Andy Sheppard (mostly) and Courtney Pine back in 1987/88.

I still have all the vinyl. The first wife also liked Kenny G but to be honest I've never owned a lift in which to play it 😀

I had dinner with Andy last year and that resulted in my switch to tenor, I hardly listen to anything but tenor. Bought the same sax he uses too.

 

[Young Col]

Sidney Bechet. The 1940 HRS sides with Muggsy Spanier were some of the first jazz I heard (rather later than 1940!). To my mind they are still some of Bechet's greatest recordings. He is in rather more relaxed company with the straightforward cornet of Spanier, as opposed to his battling for dominance against more hard driving trumpeters like Max Kaminsky or Sydney de Paris (still good tracks but different).
After that it was Johnny Hodges and Lester Young -we observed on the old forum that Prez' solo on the 1936 Lady Be Good is one of the jazz greats. And I'm still discovering....
Colin

 

[Mamos]

Andy Sheppard (mostly) and Courtney Pine back in 1987/88.

I still have all the vinyl. The first wife also liked Kenny G but to be honest I've never owned a lift in which to play it 😀

I had dinner with Andy last year and that resulted in my switch to tenor, I hardly listen to anything but tenor. Bought the same sax he uses too.

Well next time you have lunch with Andy make sure you tell him about this forum and get him on here.

I do like Andy Sheppard as well but I lost all my vinyl albums a while ago so I will have to get them on CD

mamos