Cannonball Adderly
Steve Coleman
John Coltrane
Eric Dolphy (good call)
Jerry Eubanks
Freddie Hubbard
Maceo Parker
Chris Wood

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by Stephen]

I have to give up some love for the late great King Curtis

Charlie Parker (surprised no one has mentioned yet)
John Coltrane
Wayne Shorter
Stan Getz
Branford Marsalis
Michael Brecker

In no order:

Coltrane
Sonny Rollins
Cannonball
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Wayne Shorter
Jimmy Heath

very subjective to the moment....
Bird,,,,
Coltrane
Dexter Gordon
Sonny Rollins
Paul Desmond
Gerry Mulligan...............

now whom did i see more and more current
Karl Denson
David Sanborn
phil woods
Branford Masalis
AND GROVER...........................

A sax player that really impressed was the late Steve Marcus. I only saw him once in the early 80s in California with Buddy Rich.

Charlie Parker
Junior Walker was good live but simple
Stan Getz and many more I can think of.

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by blackey]

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by blackey]

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by blackey]

Oh I saw this guy. The late Ronnie Ross. He plays the sax in the Beatles White Album and on the end of Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed.

Not sure I’m qualified to pick the top players, but the six I most like listening to are:

Ike Quebec
Dexter Gordon
Lester Young
Jackie McLean
Illinois Jacquet
Sonny Rollins

The six I’ve seen live who have impressed me most are:

Joe Henderson
Joe Lovano
Sonny Rollins
Dewey Redman
Gerry Mulligan
Chico Freeman

Since almost all are Jazz guys I will give a shout out to Bobby Keys. This dude wailed on some Stones tunes.

One that hasn't been mentioned:

Clarence Clemons

The mentioning of Karl Denson is a good one. I caught several shows that summer he opened for the ABB. '03 I think it was.

Junior Walker - He did the sax solo on Foreigner's "Urgent". Not sure whose idea it was to add that (and him) to the song but it sure did work!

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by Lee]

Clarence Clemons had arguably the best sax solo in Rock & Roll
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lW1RAYYs8RI

Clarence Clemons had arguably the best sax solo in Rock & Roll
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lW1RAYYs8RI/blockquote >

Yeah, that is really good! Nod to the other thread about pianists, Roy Bittan is important in the song as well.

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

 

Has the guy who played the solo on Money been mentioned

*looked it up - Dick Parry - never heard of him - wonder if he got included in royalties/residuals (speaking of money:o ) - if not shoulda been

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by Stephen]

The sax solo in Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street". That might be my favorite ever. Some guy named Raphael Ravenscroft.

That made the song.

The sax solo in Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street". That might be my favorite ever. Some guy named Raphael Ravenscroft.

That made the song.

I feel the same way about Tom Scott's solo on Carole King's "Jazzman"...

Good one - Tom Scott & the LA Express - he was on Briefcase Full of Blues too, by the Blues Brothers

One that hasn't been mentioned:

Clarence Clemons

The mentioning of Karl Denson is a good one. I caught several shows that summer he opened for the ABB. '03 I think it was.

Junior Walker - He did the sax solo on Foreigner's "Urgent". Not sure whose idea it was to add that (and him) to the song but it sure did work!

[Edited on 4/25/2020 by Lee]

Bingo!

I also like the Stones's sax player on Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Heartbreaker (with the other horns) and Pink Floyd's Us And Them.

Rory Gallagher was a decent sax guy. While reading Don Felder's "Heaven And Hell: My Time With The Eagles", his son played sax during gigs when the band reformed.

For rock'n'roll, it's Bobby Keys, for sure.

I also like the Stones's sax player on Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Nice. Not only in my top 5 Stones songs, but some of the best "call & response" in rock and roll. Bobby Keys, a true master....

Randall Bramblett.

I'll just name two criminally underrated players.

John Gilmore, Sun Ra's tenor man and an influencer of Coltrane's later music. Relatively unknown due to never recording as a band leader but an important voice in the history and evolution of the tenor saxophone.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Multi instrumentalist and a true innovator. Some here would know him as the composer of Volunteered Slavery.

Don't know if Gilmore would crack any top 6 list but he at least deserves honorable mention.
Glad to see mentions of Lester Young and Dexter Gordon.

In fact Gilmore is so underrated I had to edit to correct the misspelling of his name.

[Edited on 4/26/2020 by lukester420]

I also like the Stones's sax player on Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Nice. Not only in my top 5 Stones songs, but some of the best "call & response" in rock and roll. Bobby Keys, a true master....

Bobby keys was terrific.

Clarence Clemons

Saw Johnny “ The Little Giant “ Griffin at the Blue Note in NYC when the wife and I were in town for some ABB shows , it was a rare appearance at that point in his life and it was wonderful.
Mel Collins has played on a lot of classic albums , you have all heard his playing , I saw him with King Crimson and he can play .

I also like the Stones's sax player on Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Nice. Not only in my top 5 Stones songs, but some of the best "call & response" in rock and roll. Bobby Keys, a true master....

Bobby keys was terrific.

He's also on Mad Dogs and Englishmen. I think it's him taking a great solo on "The Letter," tag-teaming with Jim Price on trumpet.

Sam Butera-Night Train

Sam played sax for Louis Prima.................amazing

I’m amazed that no one selected Bill Evans. I was lucky enough to see him guest with ABB at the Tower Theater in Philly and at the United Palace Theater in NYC 3/20/2010. That night he played on the best recorded version of Dreams and second best version of Liz Reed in my possession. Also saw him perform with Butch and gang at Peachfest. One of the first performances of Les Brers I believe.

I don't know Bill Evans' solo work at all, but his sit-ins with the band around that time were great. In 2011 he turned up and played on Spanish Key, Soulshine and Dreams and it was a real highlight. Karl Denson's guest spots in the mid-2000s were also terrific.

John Coltrane
Paul Desmond
Grover Washington Jr.
Cannonball Adderley
Sonny Rollins
Sonny Fortune
Boots Randolph