Hello fellow Jazz aficionados. All is well and thank you for your concern. It’s been an insanely busy time work wise and while I have not posted I have followed the thread more than casually.
On the subject of tenor players. For whatever it may be worth to any one listener, among players, Coltrane, Rollins and Henderson are considered to be the three greatest (most influential) modern tenor players. Sonny Rollins was an amazing improviser who pioneered the use of the harmony instrument (piano/guitar)-less rhythm section. He was one of the few players who could pull this off due to his remarkable command of harmony. This allowed the listener to hear and follow the harmonic progression of a tune….if only “suggested” by his improvisations. Even more importantly he possessed a remarkable rhythmic musical presence. The feeling of even very good Jazz performances is that of the soloist playing TO the rhythmic pulse (groove) laid down by the rhythm section. When one listens to Rollins the feeling is that it is Rollins who is the rhythmic center of gravity, Remarkable,
Interesting comments about intonation. Manipulation of intonation can be a great expressive tool; although some players simply have bad intonation. Jackie Maclean is a great example of a player who played so sharp (above the reference pitch) that it can be uncomfortable to listen to. Eric Dolphy, on the other hand, used idiosyncratic intonation of certain notes for great expressive effect. It is also important to not confuse playing “outside” the harmony of a tune and its resulting dissonance with bad intonation.