Best Sax Jazz

Well said, Jay.

Agree with Drrasta's "Ballads" and as another melodic sample of Coltrane would add my favorite rainy day piece "The Gentle Side of John Coltrane" (Impulse). Even the cd is good.

Billy Harper is an excellent tenor saxophonist who has been around for over 30 years. He comes out of Texas originally and has that big Texas tenor sound a la Booker Ervin. Ecstatic Coltrane and gospel are two of his influences. My wife and I love his music.
He has many fine releases under his own name and on others' sessions, including Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, and Gil Evans.

Not familiar with Billy Harper, do you have 1 or 2 favorites that you would recommend as starters?

Do you mean sound-wise or performance-wise? Sonny Rollins "The Bridge" and Johnny Griffin "Return of the Griffin" come to mind performance-wise. Soundwise, most audiophiles will not like my suggestion: settle for nothing short of the live event.