Best Alto Sax
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Charlie Parker was a highly influential American jazz musician primarily known for his innovative contributions to bebop. He was an exceptional alto saxophonist celebrated for his virtuosity and complex improvisational style. His music, particularly recordings like “Ko-Ko,” remains foundational to t...
Ornette Coleman was a pioneering American jazz musician primarily known for his innovative approach to saxophone and composition. His music, frequently categorized as avant-garde or free jazz, challenged traditional harmonic structures and rhythmic conventions. Released works like "The Shape of Jazz...
Cannonball Adderley was an American alto saxophonist linked to hard bop and soul jazz, heard on Miles Davis's 1959 album Kind of Blue.
Benny Carter was an American alto saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and arranger whose career spanned from 1920s swing into the 1990s.
Eric Dolphy was an American multi-instrumentalist whose 1964 Blue Note album Out to Lunch became a landmark of avant-garde jazz.
Jackie McLean was an American alto saxophonist whose 1963 Blue Note album Let Freedom Ring fused hard bop with modal and free-jazz ideas.
Paul Desmond was an American alto saxophonist in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and composed Take Five, recorded for Time Out in 1959.
Johnny Hodges was a U.S. alto saxophonist whose creamy tone and blues phrasing made him a signature soloist in Duke Ellington's orchestra.
Anthony Braxton is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist whose 1969 recording For Alto became the first full solo saxophone jazz album.
Phil Woods was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist, a multiple Grammy winner and 2007 NEA Jazz Master linked to bebop lineage.
Miguel Zenon is a Puerto Rican alto saxophonist and composer, a 2008 MacArthur Fellow whose work connects modern jazz with island traditions.
Steve Coleman is an American alto saxophonist who coined the M-Base concept in 1980s Brooklyn and was named a 2014 MacArthur Fellow.
Gary Bartz is an American alto saxophonist who played with Miles Davis in 1970 and led the jazz-funk and soul group NTU Troop.
Rudresh Mahanthappa is an American alto saxophonist whose 2008 Kinsmen with Kadri Gopalnath fused jazz improvisation with Carnatic music.
Grace Kelly is an American alto saxophonist and singer noted as a prodigy, releasing her debut album Dreaming in 2004 at age 12.
