Great Players Who sparked your love of Sax music

Tasjii · Jun 3, 2017

I first fell in love with the saxophone when I heard Candy Dulfer play, must have been late 80's early 90's have loved sax music ever since. What I would not give to be able to play like her...

SaxBerg · Jun 3, 2017

Jan Garbarek when I heard him play at the Norwegian Spellemannsprisen show on television (the local "Grammy" here in Norway) in 1979. I was 13 years at that time, and a fanatic Beatles fan and aspiring guitarist. Garbarek turned all that around, and soon I was practising saxophone and listening to everything from Coltrane to Weather Report.

garrobito · Jun 5, 2017

Just one name: Leandro "Gato" Barbieri, a gigantic saxophonist player from my country... In special, his CD with Carlos Santana, "Europa"... literally blown my mind..
After that, a lot more... Coltrane, Gerry Mulligan and his CD "Confluencias" with Astor Piazzolla..
A lot of names. a lot of good music....

Nick Wyver · Jun 5, 2017

garrobito said:
Just one name: Leandro "Gato" Barbieri, a gigantic saxophonist player from my country...

Oh yes. I bought El Pampero and Fenix back in the 70s and I'm sure his sound influenced my idea of what a tenor should sound like.

garrobito · Jun 5, 2017

Nick Wyver said:
Oh yes. I bought El Pampero and Fenix back in the 70s and I'm sure his sound influenced my idea of what a tenor should sound like.

He was the king of the growl... Did you know he play with a Berg 95/1 with a reed 1? Yes, 1... total bright sound...
I have same mouthpiece and one of this days I gonna get a 1 reed and tried it... Impressive musician. He passed away past year on april...

Jules · Jun 5, 2017

Nick Wyver said:
Oh yes. I bought El Pampero and Fenix back in the 70s and I'm sure his sound influenced my idea of what a tenor should sound like.

I'm from a rock & roll background sound tend to growl a lot but his continuous snarl always seemed one hell of a feat of.. if nothing else... not breaking down and coughing.

altissimo · Jun 7, 2017

garrobito said:
He was the king of the growl... Did you know he play with a Berg 95/1 with a reed 1? Yes, 1... total bright sound...
I have same mouthpiece and one of this days I gonna get a 1 reed and tried it... Impressive musician. He passed away past year on april...

I wonder if he got the growling from Pharoah Sanders?
I first heard Gato Barbieri when I was 16 and borrowed an album called 'Obsession' from the library - I'd only just got interested i jazz, so it was a bit much for me at the time, but a precursor to much of my later listening...

View: https://youtu.be/yGVY3i4Q-sA

garrobito · Jun 8, 2017

Gato Barbieri always told they're influencers were Parker, Alberto Hervier and, specially, Don Cherry, an incredible free jazz trompetist.
Wikipedia named between they're influencers at Pharoah Sanders, Carlos Santana and John Coltrane.
He work with Lalo Schifrin and different film music (the most important was "The last tango in Paris" for Bertolucci).

altissimo · Jun 8, 2017

garrobito said:
Gato Barbieri always told they're influencers were Parker, Alberto Hervier and, specially, Don Cherry, an incredible free jazz trompetist.
Wikipedia named between they're influencers at Pharoah Sanders, Carlos Santana and John Coltrane.
He work with Lalo Schifrin and different film music (the most important was "The last tango in Paris" for Bertolucci).

he played with Don Cherry on several if his albums and there are live recordings from tours of Europe with him in the mid 60's as well as on Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Mike Mantler's Jazz Composer's Orchestra and Carla Bley's Escalator Over The Hill
I think he's playing on this film from Bologna 65 with Don Cherry about 21 minutes in - he's not mentioned in the end credits, but neither is Steve Lacy

View: https://youtu.be/RvvMBFE_fu0

jambsspiii · Jun 8, 2017

Jimmy Forrest when I heard 'Night Train'

John Coltrane and his 'Giant Steps' and 'Mr. PC'

Also love listening to Joshua Redman and Sonny Rollins and of course all of the other great players.

Jake

garrobito · Jun 9, 2017

altissimo said:
he played with Don Cherry on several if his albums and there are live recordings from tours of Europe with him in the mid 60's as well as on Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Mike Mantler's Jazz Composer's Orchestra and Carla Bley's Escalator Over The Hill
I think he's playing on this film from Bologna 65 with Don Cherry about 21 minutes in - he's not mentioned in the end credits, but neither is Steve Lacy

View: https://youtu.be/RvvMBFE_fu0

It's me or it's a REALLY long neck?? take at look how much distance between the sax and mouthpiece..

Craig Selwyn · Jun 9, 2017

Dick Morrissey - Alto Saxophone on 'Love Theme' from the film 'Bladerunner'.
For the record written by Vangelis.

garrobito · Jun 9, 2017

Craig Selwyn said:
Dick Morrissey - Alto Saxophone on 'Love Theme' from the film 'Bladerunner'.
For the record written by Vangelis.

Oh! THAT Dick! I love the movie and specially that theme... impressive how Vangelis paint almost a parallel movie with his music.

altissimo · Jun 9, 2017

garrobito said:
It's me or it's a REALLY long neck?? take at look how much distance between the sax and mouthpiece..

I think it's the long shank on his mouthpiece and he's not got it pushed very far onto the cork - looks like a Conn 10M tenor he was playing back then..

Westcoaster · Jun 17, 2017

On a non jazz trip, the solo on James Taylor's Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,has always moved me. I'm a JT fan anyway - but this is a romantic classic. Had it as our first dance when I got married.

John Laughter · Sep 26, 2017

It was the summer of 1956 and “Honky Tonk” by the Bill Doggett combo was hitting the airwaves and jukeboxes. That did it for me. Loved that sax sound. Got on my bicycle and rode to the high school to join 7th grade band. The band director loaned me an old 40’s alto and that did it. I would soon be hearing Little Richard, Fats Domino and the Champs and I was hooked. The roof raising rock & roll was the thing of the day following the “Blackboard Jungle” movie and the sax was right there in just about all the big hits. Several months after joining the 7th grade band some of my friends and I were playing a rock song in the band room after school and the same director told us to leave. At that point I knew I was doing something right and was going to have fun! 🙂

Aberyscir · Sep 26, 2017

Listening to Charles Fox on his Radio 3 late night show (1981?) and buying his choice of jazz record of the year, first time I had bought a jazz record - Blues for the Fisherman, only CD I have ever worn out, and only replaced last year when the entire recording from Ronnie Scott's - Art Pepper and Micho Leviev - was (brilliantly!) released by Art's widow. Know every note and must have nearly all of Art Pepper's recordings - and finally bought an alto last year...

MikeMorrell · Sep 26, 2017

Apologies for not reading the whole thread but in my my case, no-one did. I just saw an ad in a local paper from a music shop The ad said I could hire a sax for a minimum of 3 months at a reasonable rate.

Having played classical guitar up until then (and getting a bit fed up with the discipline of practicing) I had the illusion that playing sax would be easier, more free and more expressive than playing classical guitar. To some extent that was true but the illusion lasted about a month. Then I discovered that playing sax well required just as much 'disciplined practice' as playing guitar.

This begs the question why I associated playing sax with freedom of expression. Cliches, but the sax parts on Baker Street, Dire Straights, etc. always sounded 'free' to me. Sax was the the ultimate unconstrained instrument. Whatever you felt, whatever you wanted to express, you could do it with a sax. That's why I replied to the ad in the local paper.

Mike

jeremyjuicewah · Sep 27, 2017

John Laughter said:
Several months after joining the 7th grade band some of my friends and I were playing a rock song in the band room after school and the same director told us to leave. At that point I knew I was doing something right and was going to have fun!

I was harnessed to classical and Spanish guitar lessons as as kid, but was playing pop, rock and blues in my spare time. Our music teacher at school informed me that the guitar was not a proper musical instrument. I was crushed.........NOT! Taking guitar lessons for so long so young made me think, for some reason, that the guitar was my instrument. It was 47 years later that I broke free of that mindset. Now I will try anything including the cat.

Cheers al
Mikel

Alice · Sep 27, 2017

MikeMorrell said:
Apologies for not reading the whole thread but in my my case, no-one did. I just saw an ad in a local paper from a music shop The ad said I could hire a sax for a minimum of 3 months at a reasonable rate.

Having played classical guitar up until then (and getting a bit fed up with the discipline of practicing) I had the illusion that playing sax would be easier, more free and more expressive than playing classical guitar. To some extent that was true but the illusion lasted about a month. Then I discovered that playing sax well required just as much 'disciplined practice' as playing guitar.

This begs the question why I associated playing sax with freedom of expression. Cliches, but the sax parts on Baker Street, Dire Straights, etc. always sounded 'free' to me. Sax was the the ultimate unconstrained instrument. Whatever you felt, whatever you wanted to express, you could do it with a sax. That's why I replied to the ad in the local paper.

Mike

I know, it takes a lot of time and practice to sound effortless otherwise freedom of expression consists of honks, burrrrs, split octaves, squeaks and sometimes no sound at all.