Favorite Lesser Known Sax Players

May be not JAZZY enough for most...but I like Houston Person.

Dave

Here are a few of my favorites, all of which are/were great players that have been overlooked to varying degrees by today's listeners. I have not included some players on the list below -- for example, Ben Webster, Art Pepper, Phil Woods, Dexter Gordon, Gerry Mulligan, Cannonball Adderley, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, etc. -- since I think their names are reasonably well known.

Here's a partial list of lesser known "giants of sax", with names are listed randomly as I think of them:
Sonny Stitt; Wayne Shorter; Don Byas; Don Lanphere; Johnny Hodges; Paul Gonsalves; Zoot Sims; Al Cohn; Warne Marsh; Lee Konitz; David Murray; Frank Morgan; Lucky Thompson; Bud Shank; Chu Berry; Paul Quinichette; Ricky Ford; Paquito D'Rivera; Ike Quebec; Steve Lacy; Jane Ira Bloom; Chico Freeman; Von Freeman (Chico's father); Kenny Garrett; Johnny Griffin; Jackie McLean; Richie Cole; Stanley Turrentine; Gene Quill; Hank Mobley; Jan Garbarek; Oliver Lake; Hamiett Bluiett; Frank Wess; Pharaoh Sanders; Charles Lloyd; Rahsaan Roland Kirk; and probably another 30-40 that I can't think of right now.

Bob Mintzer of Yellowjackets. Eric Marienthal.

Nik Turner of Hawkwind (and related projects.)

Byfo, was that Bob Mintzer playing on the Yellowjackets album Four Corners? Whoever that was, I liked their sax work A LOT.

I liked Paul Carman's work on Sandy Owen's Themes in Search of a Movie.

Although he's well known, I liked Branford Marsalis' work on the soundtrack for the movie The Russia House.

And, Coltrane is one of my all time faves.