Best Tenor

The Conn 88H trombone is a tenor instrument distinguished by its robust construction and F attachment. It’s notable for its consistent tone quality and durability, characteristics that have made it a standard choice within orchestral settings and educational institutions. Primarily used by professio...

Sonny Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist who recorded prolifically on both alto and tenor saxophone across a career spanning more than three decades. He first gained notice in the mid-1940s with Billy Eckstine's orchestra, alongside musicians such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and went...

Jan Garbarek is a Norwegian saxophonist and composer who came to prominence in the late 1960s through his work with American bassist and composer George Russell, and later as a core member of pianist Keith Jarrett's European quartet on albums including "Belonging" and "My Song." He has recorded exte...

Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 3, “Song of the Night,” Op. 27 is a significant work from 1916. It features evocative music inspired by Persian poetry and utilizes a prominent tenor voice alongside chorus and orchestra. The symphony's mystical atmosphere and unique instrumentation appeal to listeners int...

Evan Parker is a British saxophonist born in 1944 who has been active in free improvisation since the mid-1960s, performing on tenor and soprano saxophones. He was a member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, a foundational group in the development of British free improvisation, and has recorded exte...

Jimmy Giuffre was an American jazz composer, arranger, clarinetist, and saxophonist who lived from 1921 to 2008. He wrote "Four Brothers" for Woody Herman's orchestra, whose 1947 recording became associated with the band's distinctive saxophone sound. Giuffre later pursued quieter, chamber-like form...

Gene Ammons was an American tenor saxophonist born in Chicago in 1925 and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. He first came to wider attention as a member of the Billy Eckstine Orchestra in the mid-1940s, alongside musicians such as Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, and Sonny Stitt, and lat...

Illinois Jacquet (1922-2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist associated with swing, jump blues, and early rhythm and blues. His forceful 1942 solo on Lionel Hampton's recording of Flying Home became an influential example of the honking tenor style, combining repeated notes, emphatic rhythms,...

Peter Brotzmann was a German saxophonist and composer associated with European free jazz and improvised music. His 1968 album Machine Gun featured an octet performing dense, high-volume collective improvisation and became closely identified with the emerging European avant-garde. Although best known...

Stanley Turrentine was an American tenor saxophonist who lived from 1934 to 2000 and became closely associated with soul jazz and hard bop. His playing combined a warm, robust tone with blues phrasing, rhythmic directness, and an approach shaped by jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel traditions. He r...

Dave Liebman is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist who plays both the soprano and tenor saxophones. He is highly regarded for his work in the post-bop and avant-garde jazz idioms, having collaborated extensively with musicians like Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner. In the early 1970s, he gained in...

Edward Brian 'Tubby' Hayes was a British jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known as a tenor saxophonist and vibraphonist. He was a foundational figure in the British jazz scene during the 1950s and 1960s, co-leading the highly successful Jazz Couriers with trumpeter Ronnie Scott. Hayes also traveled...

Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who emerged as a prominent figure during the swing and bebop eras of the 1940s and early 1950s. He first gained national recognition playing in the Earl Hines Orchestra before joining the Benny Goodman band. Gray is perhaps best known for his serie...

Lucky Thompson (1924-2005) was an American jazz musician who played tenor and soprano saxophone and worked as a composer and arranger. Emerging during the swing and bebop transition, he performed and recorded with musicians including Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Milt Jackson. His p...

James Moody was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist, recognized primarily for his work on the tenor and alto saxophones. He began his professional career as a member of Dizzy Gillespie's big band in the late 1940s. Moody improvised an entirely new melody over the chord changes of 'I'm in the M...

Dewey Redman was an American jazz saxophonist and composer who lived from 1931 to 2006. Primarily associated with the tenor saxophone, he developed a forceful, highly personal approach that moved between free improvisation, blues, and established jazz forms. He worked extensively with Ornette Colema...

Booker Ervin was an American jazz tenor saxophonist recognized for his robust, blues-inflected hard bop style. Originally from Texas, he taught himself to play the saxophone while serving in the United States Air Force and later studied at the Berklee College of Music. Ervin is best known for his te...

David S. Ware was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. He led the David S. Ware Quartet for many years, working notably with pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker, while the drum chair changed over time. His forceful t...

Paul Gonsalves was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who lived from 1920 to 1974 and spent much of his career in Duke Ellington's orchestra. He is particularly associated with a 27-chorus solo during a performance of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, an episode c...

King Curtis, born Curtis Ousley, was an American tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and highly sought-after session musician. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he played on numerous hit records for Atlantic Records, backing artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Coasters, and LaVern Baker. Leading his own b...

Chu Berry, born Leon Brown Berry in 1908, was an American tenor saxophonist prominent during the swing era. He performed with ensembles led by Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway, and his recordings display a strong tone, fluent phrasing and advanced harmonic ideas. Berry was an import...

Bennie Maupin is an American jazz multi-reedist whose instruments include tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, and soprano saxophone. He played bass clarinet on Miles Davis's fusion album Bitches Brew and later performed with Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi ensemble and the Headhunters. Maupin is disti...

Billy Harper is an American tenor saxophonist and composer, born in 1943, whose music combines post-bop writing with elements often associated with spiritual jazz. He has performed with major jazz bandleaders, including Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Max Roach, and Gil Evans, while also leading his own ens...

Harold Land was an American tenor saxophonist whose warm, controlled tone became associated with hard bop and West Coast jazz. He was a member of the Clifford Brown and Max Roach quintet in 1954 and 1955, contributing to several important recordings before returning to California. Land later co-led...

Von Freeman (1922-2012) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist closely associated with Chicago, where he became a respected bandleader, mentor, and longtime club performer. Known for an individual sound and rhythmically flexible phrasing, he worked in hard bop and related jazz traditions while maint...

Clifford Jordan (1931-1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist born in Chicago. Emerging during the hard bop era, he recorded as a leader for Blue Note beginning with Blowing in from Chicago, a 1957 album shared with saxophonist John Gilmore, and later worked with musicians including Charles Min...

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who lived from 1922 to 1986. Known for a forceful, blues-inflected tone, he worked across swing, hard bop, soul jazz, and organ-combo settings, including prominent collaborations with organist Shirley Scott. He also co-led a celebrated two...

Herschel Evans (1909-1939) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist associated most closely with the Count Basie Orchestra during the swing era. His warm, forceful, blues-rooted sound provided a notable contrast to the lighter approach of fellow Basie tenor saxophonist Lester Young. Evans can be heard...

Ravi Coltrane is an American jazz saxophonist who plays both tenor and soprano saxophones, and is the son of legendary musicians John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane. Active since the early 1990s, he established his own career distinct from his parents, performing as a bandleader and collaborating with...