Top 10 Jazz Tenor Saxophonist (part 2)

6. Wayne Shorter
Saxophone equivalent to Miles and Herbie Hancock, I don't remember anybody else as successful across hard bop and fusion.


7. Dexter Gordon
Different people love Dexter in many different ways. I can still remember how was I surprised by early Dexter's recording... when I need an honest piece of music with a lot of gun smoke, I would still seek Dexter out.


8. Ben Webster
As time goes by, time span of pre-bop is getting shorter in the history of jazz. I start to worry fans would eventually forget how jazz first sounds like. Nothing's wrong with Joshua Redman, I like his music a lot. However, I cannot ignore music that first touch me and bring me into the world of jazz.


9. Johnny Griffin
When Johnny plays, you can't complain. I can hardly imagine a jazz fan telling he doesn't like Johnny Griffin... he is either swing or fusion advocate. "I like to play fast. I get excited, and I have to sort of control myself, restrain myself. But when the rhythm section gets cooking, I want to 'explode'."


10. Pharoah Sanders
Ornette Coleman: "probably the best tenor player in the world." Respected by Coltrane and many other free jazz musicians but not ordinary jazz fans.

Top 10 Jazz Tenor Saxophonist (Part 1)

1. John Coltrane
It will be a good surprise to hit a club without reminiscent of Coltrane sound. So Coltrane had made mainstream jazz or another way round?


2. Sonny Rollins
I always listen to him like emotional bluesman but hey, I know Sonny worth a million for academic analysis. Multi-dimensional... his idea, his melody, his technique, his tone...


3. Lester Young
I don't really look at the whole performance profile when do ranking... it is how often I hear magic from that tenor man. Most player makes wonder only at certain point of his career but Prez did it again, and again, and when you thought his final sessions are just a breathe of... he did that magic again.


4. Coleman Hawkins
If it is not Bean... we are most likely still stuck with comical jungle sound or rag time jazz. Ambitious lines, serious artistic exploration... Bean was not the first but he elevated with Body and Soul.


5. Stan Getz
Natural born conversationalist. He never fails to tell wonderful story, most of them are exotic journey to Brazil.

Thelonious Monk's Top 10 Track (part 1)

Who else can I start with but Thelonios Monk!

1. Bye-ya (Monk's Dream - Columbia)
Do you remember early quartet rendition of "Bye-ya"? No I don't. And yes, I meant Coltrane and Griffin were not making it. Well, you can say Rouse's line is stiff but those angular notes never sounds so... angular before! And this is true Monkish!


2. Round Midnight (The Complete Blue Note Recordings - Blue Note)
Dare you not select which "Round Midnight" version from any artist but Monk. Why not of his many solos of "Round About Midnight" or "Around Midnight"? I'm not going there, you go.


3. Epistrophy (Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall - Blue Note)
I should've said that I like "Bye-ya" from "Monk's Dream" because of Frankie's solo, and I'm gonna do it again... Coltrane was adapting to his new musical universe when he was recording this. It is Shadow Wilson that made this great composition stand out like no other before... and after.


4. Coming On The Hudson (Thelonius In Action - Riverside)
Oh yes, are you gonna say that I am picking an odd ball just to make this a distinctive list? Monk is hard bopper, I believe from the bottom of my heart even though most would ague that he cannot be categorized. I don't ague with people that regards another person demi-god. Johnny Griffin is nothing if not hard bop. So where am I going? Anyway, this is an emotional hard bop tune.


5. Pannonica (Brilliant Corners - Riverside)
I can hardly remember any other "Pannonica" (except in "Thelonious Alone in San Francisco"). However... there is however, I can throw you at least 10 versions of "Crepuscule With Nellie" even though "Crepuscule" isn't as strong a piece as "Pannonica". Am I suggesting something fishy?