Great list once again. I really only have one issue, as much as I enjoy and respect your playing it would be great to hear an actual sample from each of the players on the list so we can understand what makes them so great.
@@PeterAndWillAnderson Also, what’s the issue with Kenny G? Clearly, is it because his music does not use a 2-5-1 chord progressions and well defined jazz vocabulary; is it his sound (some say he regularly plays sharp, or that he doesn’t play jazz standards? He seems to have the facility to play Trane or Byrd.
Kenny has the facility, the “chops” but he also has a formula musically that he doesn’t deviate. Limited imagination. I’ve seen him live several times; it was always the same approach, sometimes it was years between seeing him…but the same but good. Like peanut butter and jelly…good but not too many!
Thanks for taking time to put this list together, I’m a mere home hobby amateur sax lover with tenor and soprano, both of which I love for different reasons, I’ve always had a slight biased towards the soprano, even if time and skill are not on my side a little later than some in life, but this list really gives me something to work on. I’m familiar with a few, I’d say the obvious ones, but I’ll now research the music of all of these a little more. I’ve not found as much on soprano, so again thank you.
Thanks for making this video. I was primarily a jazz tenor sax player for many years but TMJ issues made it difficult for me to play. Now I’m hoping to make a comeback exclusively on the soprano which for some reason does not give me issues. I’ve been looking for a good list of soprano players for inspiration and here it is! Thank you!!!
Great list of soprano sax players. I was glad that Lucky Thompson got credit as one of the best soprano players. Another wonderful player on the soprano sax was Zoot Sims.
@@PeterAndWillAnderson thanks for the list !.. you may check "Soprano Sax" by Zoot and I would also add Jan Garbarek and John Surman who have stunning tones on the soprano..
You are a fabulous player! Kenny Davern was my primary classical clarinet teacher in New Jersey! FWIW, I adore Jay Beckenstein on soprano. Many of the contemporary guys like Euge Groove also play a nice horn. I’m not bad myself!
Hello from Hamburg, Germany! I missed an old soprano man, whom noone would regard as such: Johnny Hodges. He played wonderful themes and solos until he stopped that instrument in the early forties. Everyone knows him only as a great alto sax player, but he, a student of Sidney Bechet, should be kept in mind!
I have music by everyone on this list except Olivier Franc, but if you don't have Grover Washington Jr on this list it's incomplete. He played fusion, smooth and traditional jazz. Grover recorded with Dexter Gordon.
@@PeterAndWillAnderson Thanks, I just get a little salty when it comes to Grover. He was unfairly criticized because he became wealthy playing fusion jazz or whatever label it gets these days. It seems that if you aren't broke, drug addicted and playing in a back alley salon somewhere that you aren't a legitimate jazz musician. Grover had a unique and beautiful sound on all four horns. If I had criticism of Grover is he didn't play the baritone enough. His last recording was a classic album and his baritone saxophone playing brought tears to your eyes and a smile on your face. Just beautiful. Sonny Rollins favorite soul saxophonist? Grover Washington Jr. Enough of my rant, I have a couple of your CDs and I enjoy your playing (both of you!).
Hi Peter + Will! Do u have a recommendation for a book with jazz solos transcribed for soprano sax? So far I can only find good stuff for tenor, but I'm afraid that the range of notes doesn't fit perfectly when u use tenor sheet music with soprano. Thx in advance :)
Check the solos page on our website! Any of the sax solos will work great for you. The transposed range is the same for all the saxes, so if you are reading a transposed solo it will be perfect. If you want to play along with the recording, you'll have to change the pitch of the recording, which many programs can do. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Prof. Chris Vadala, ex-saxist with Chuck Mangione. London's Courtney Pine, In Jazz - Organic Real Jazz. Joe Temperney...(spelling) Ted Nash + Victor Goins Great list Informative mini biography Thanks 😘
Great names. Joe, Victor and Ted were our wonderful saxophone teachers in college. Chris Vadala was a teacher of ours in Maryland when we were young. You hit the nail on the head :)
You left out Kenny G!! He's my inspiration, so wonderful to hear his music as I'm learning the soprano sax myself now. I took it up last Christmas as it was a present from my dear hubby! I'm finding it quite challenging, but practising as much as I can, slowly improving. Had problems with notes squeaking, but working on my embouchure, putting more of the mouthpiece in my mouth seems to keep the squeaks at bay! Really enjoying playing though, and it's lovely playing simple versions of classical music.
I've got a Trevor James soprano sax, and I'm playing with Vandoren 3 strength and Hemker 3 strength reeds. I haven't changed my mouthpiece yet, still perfectly happy with Trevor James.
10. Dave Liebman 9. Steve Lacy 8. Olivier Franc 7. Wayne Shorter 6. Branford Marsalis 5. Rahsaan Roland Kirk 4. John Coltrane 3. Bob Wilber & Kenny Davern 2. Lucky Thompson 1. Sidney Bechet
Might be an issue with your instrument. The pads are most likely leaking which might make it hard to make those notes speak well. I'd recommend taking the horn to a repair person.
I get really tired of people dissing other musician: ie Kenny G! Love him or hate him doesn't matter. Move on. He is doing what he loves. May we all be as successful by following our muse.
Your opinion . of course....Grover Washington Jr. mastered circular breathing.. For me Top 3..Next Kenny G and Boney James All Smooth Jazz ...he played with the times.
It´s a solid list, though I don´t really agree to the ranking. Some names of soprano players are missing: James Carter (does "Gardenias for Lady Day" ring any bell?), Jane Ira Bloom (terrific), Bob Mintzer (Yes, on ocasion he played the soprano), Jay Beckenstein (mainly fusion, but his soprano timbre is gorgeous). There are brazilian sopranos players that I urge you to check out on RU-vid: Mauro Senise (Vento Bravo - music performed), Mário Seve (O Cabra - music performed) and the great Daniela Spielmann. She is just amazing. Check her album Afinidades. She deserves a wider audience. P.S.: Not all tracks on "Gardenias for Lady Day" are on soprano. A great album, no less.
Thanks for the insight, I tried to pick soprano players who play very actively on the instrument, not just occasionally. I'll have to check out all those you mentioned. Thanks so much for tuning in!
As famous as he was Bechet is sometimes ironically called the goat in France. Forgive me I prefer Kenny G who popularized the soprano thanks to his tone, and, I believe, pushed the Chinese to produce curvies, some of them excellent. The curve also has an effect on the tone (cf straight alto since you mentioned R Kirk). Also, smooth jazz is part of jazz. Wish I could play like D Koz. Nice video though, sampling each player would have been even better. When you hear someone play, who cares about their bio? Keep up with the good work…
@@PeterAndWillAnderson The first soprano solo I remember was Hodges' when he played as part of the Goodman 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, and later I heard Bechet playing on "China Boy" with Spanier. I have a 1923 Buescher soprano myself and am learning to play the Hodges' solo on "Rent Party Blues", 1926, very much in Bechet's style.
I hope you are not disrespecting Kenny G. He kept the instrument in the public eye and he can really play some horn. Please respect any player for their effort. Their playing might not fit your aesthetic values. But they are doing their best to bring beauty to the listener who is not necessarily a musician. I am 78 , i play for the people, not other musicians. Except for the players on the bandstand with me.
@@PeterAndWillAnderson by the way, Britan's Got Talent Julian Smith is pretty good by the way! Check out his RU-vid. Have you done a top 10 list of living soprano sax players?
@@PeterAndWillAnderson Here is his channel ru-vid.com/show-UCl8-wfwoyrDBhKAjbkwqgpw and here is the link the BTG 2009 audition. He was a semi-finalist ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DST0jDMS07k.html.
Comparing doesn't really make sens. How do you measure the value of each musician ? Not easy. As far as I'm concerned, I would say that Shorter and Lacy are the top ones. And you forgot Joe Lovano who is a real master. Joe also plays tarogato (sort of wooden soprano) and it would have been interesting to talk about this instrument coming from Hungary. Joe Lovano and Scott Robinson are real masters of this instrument.
The late George Probert would have blown these players away. See 2:20 and, especially 2:38 in the link of Milneberg Joys in ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u5f6nfzo58U.html and the collective improvisation in the final chorus of Jazz Me Blues ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_qe3ALBTtX4.html
I use the same SELMER Mark V1 soprano saxophone with the same Selmer ebonite E mouthpiece and in this audio you can hear its variable tonality and perfect intonation used by Tony Coe , the British saxophone star on soprano with a Vandoren Java 3 reed. For louder , more aggressive modern style tones of course that Selmer would be not suitable !
Man this list is weird as fuck.. Branford Marsalis, Sidney bechet, Wayne shorter and Steve Lacy are all tied for first. Each one of them has and undeniably unique sound and approach to playing their instrument everyone else can fight for the other bottom slots….. btw Coltrane is one of my all time favorites musicians but his soprano sound is a hot dumpster fire.
amico mio non riesco a comprendere il perché' non e' citato Stefano Di Battista sopranista eccellente, dal suono meraviglioso e George garzone dal suono impressionante sul soprano . questa presentazione e' decisamente incompleta . ascolta Stefano di Battista Petite Luise ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kVomLrl-phY.html e Coco Chanel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vYQ-ChPODns.html e George Garzone Central park West ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ln4FrKas6fc.html e Summertime ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q7gLF7hsabM.html e Snow Place like home ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eaVGkT3v_rE.html . non si può' essere indiferenti di fronte a questi artisti e non citarli . infine il n 1 andrebbe a John Coltrane perché e' colui che ha rivoluzionato il modo di suonare il soprano ed e' per questo che poggi molti sassofonisti suonano il soprano strumento molto difficile da suonare .. my friend, I can't understand why Stefano Di Battista, an excellent soprano, with a wonderful sound, and George Garzone with an impressive sound on the soprano, are not mentioned. This presentation is decidedly incomplete. listen to Stefano di Battista Petite Luise ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kVomLrl-phY.html and Coco Chanel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vYQ-ChPODns.html and George Garzone Central park West https ://ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ln4FrKas6fc.html and Summertime ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q7gLF7hsabM.html and Snow Place like home www.youtube.com/watch?v= eaVGkT3v_rE . one cannot be indifferent to these artists and not mention them. finally the number 1 would go to John Coltrane because he is the one who revolutionized the way of playing the soprano and this is why many saxophonists play the soprano, a very difficult instrument to play..
By mockingly making Kenny G your number “zero” pick (without even showing his image) you are disrespecting his incredible (improvisational) musicianship as well as the influence he has had on bringing the soprano to the forefront of saxophones within the general listening public. Granted, he might not be a mainstream jazz artist and some may insist that he “sold out” to pop music, but do millions of music fans know about the soprano sax by way of Sidney Bichet, or through the audience-pleasing sounds of Kenny G? Is it more important to be a true jazz purist, or to foster the love and inspiration of (saxophone) music within a wider audience? (from a working alto/soprano sax guy)🎷
There was no need to mock Kenny G like that it wasn’t necessary but you did a great job with your line up there were people I hadn’t heard of before but Kenny G has a massive influence on millions the world over and you can’t deny his musicianship, he was the one person that made me play the instrument and I remain grateful for that
While I respect your playing your list is not very good. Lib 10? Shorter 7 ?Branford 6? Dude you have got to get real and many aren’t on the list. O is accurate though ,and we won’t even say his name
I’m glad we agree on “0” hehe. I feel like we got most ot the greats into this list, even if we may disagree on the order. Soprano is a great instrument and too few played it :) any additions to the list you’d suggest?
