| contributions to technique and tradition | contributions to instrument design and manufacture | associated repertoire/texts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adolphe Sax 1814-1894 Belgium, France | First professor of saxophone at Paris Conservatory, 1858-1871. | Inventor and instrument maker: invented the saxophone, made major improvements to the bass clarinet, invented the saxhorn family. | |
| Jean-Georges Kastner 1810-1867 France | First composer to include the saxophone (bass) in an official public performance, the opera Le dernier roi de Juda. Wrote an early saxophone tutor? | ||
| Elise Hall 1853–1924 USA | Amateur saxophonist and promoter of the instrument and its repertoire. | Commissioned works by Debussy (Rapsodie), d’Indy, Schmitt (Legende), and more. | |
| Rudy Wiedoeft 1893-1940 USA | Might be considered the father of American saxophone playing; largely responsible for the American saxophone craze of the 1920’s. Virtuoso player and popular recording artist. Played primarily C-melody saxophone. | Wrote an early tutor and many ragtime-influenced solo pieces. | |
| Sidney Bechet 1897–1957 USA | Jazz clarinetist and soprano saxophonist. Known for powerful sound and distinctive vibrato. Only significant soprano saxophonist in jazz until Coltrane in the 1960’s. One of the musicians who helped to spread the New Orleans jazz sound throughout the world. | ||
| Marcel Mule 1901-2001 France | Founder of the French school of saxophone playing. Inspired by jazz players to incorporate vibrato into the classical saxophone sound. Soloist with Garde Republicaine; founder of the Mule Saxophone Quartet. | Wrote many etude and exercise books; arranged and transcribed many works for saxophone. Many pieces composed for him, including Villa-Lobos Fantasia, Desenclos Prelude, Cadence, et Finale, Bozza Aria and Improvisation et Caprice, and Bonneau Caprice en Forme de Valse. | |
| Cecil B. Leeson 1902-1989 USA | Important early concert soloist in the USA. Taught at Northwestern and Ball State | Works written for him by Creston (Sonata), Moritz, Stein, and more. | |
| Jimmy Dorsey 1904-1957 USA | Clarinetist and alto saxophonist, bandleader. Leading figure in white jazz and dance bands and recording scene. Influenced Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins. | ||
| Coleman Hawkins 1904–1969 USA | Influential jazz tenor saxophonist. Early association with Fletcher Henderson. Known for a big sound, fast vibrato, harmonically complex improvisations, and rubato; in early career, also slap-tongue and other vaudeville effects, later abandoned for a more legato style. | ||
| Larry Teal 1905-1984 USA | Concert saxophonist and pedagogue. Taught at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 1953-1974. Students included Donald Sinta, Steven Mauk, John Sampen, and Joe Henderson. | Dedicatee of the Heiden Sonata. | |
| Sigurd Rascher 1907-2001 Germany, USA | Concert saxophonist, founder of the Rascher Quartet. Taught at Juilliard, Manhattan School, Eastman. Known for fluent use of the extreme altissimo range. | Works written for him by Glazounov (Concerto), Ibert (Concertino), Husa (Elegie et Rondo), Hindemith, Milhaud, and many more. | |
| Lester Young 1909–1954 USA | Influential jazz tenor saxophonist. Well-known associations with Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, and especially Billie Holiday. Swing style; later began to transition into bebop. Known for the light, delicate tone that characterized his early career, and for a motivic approach to improvisation. | ||
| Charlie Parker 1920–1955 USA | Influential jazz alto saxophonist; one of the foremost figures in the development of bebop. Associations with Jay McShann, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis. A prolific composer, but more important for his brilliant improvisation, which often included complex harmonic devices, remarkable technical ability, blues elements, and witty musical quotations. | Composed many early bebop tunes. | |
| John Coltrane 1926–1967 USA | Influential jazz tenor (and later soprano) saxophonist. Regarded as the most important jazz saxophonist except Charlie Parker. Associations with Hodges, Monk, and especially Davis. Known for astonishing technique, “sheets of sound,” elaborate harmonic explorations, and, later, timbral explorations, motivic development, and free/avant-garde experiments. | Prolific jazz composer. | |
| Gerry Mulligan 1927–1996 USA | Influential jazz baritone saxophonist. Associated with the “cool school.” Known for associations with Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and for stylistic versatility: cool jazz, big band, bop, Dixieland. | ||
| Julian “Cannonball” Adderley 1928–1975 USA | Influential jazz alto saxophonist. Associations with Miles Davis and with brother Nat. Regarded as a spiritual heir to Charlie Parker, though his style was more chromatic and favored longer lines and a more aggressive tone. | ||
| Phil Woods 1931- USA | Prominent jazz alto saxophonist. Known for straight-ahead bebop and for studio work. | ||
| Jean-Marie Londeix 1932- France | Prominent classical saxophonist and pedagogue. Student of Mule at Paris Conservatory. Taught at National Conservatory in Bordeaux. | Many works composed for him, Including Noda Improvisations I-III. | |
| Eugene Rousseau 1932- USA | Prominent classical saxophonist and pedagogue. Student of Mule at Paris Conservatory. An organizer of the World Saxophone Congress (1969). | Works written for him by Orrego-Salas (Partita), Feld (alto Sonata), Heiden (Solo), and more. | |
| Frederick Hemke 1935- USA | Prominent American classical saxophonist and pedagogue. Student of Mule at Paris Conservatory; was the first American saxophonist to win a premier prix. Saxophonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1962 to 1982. Professor at Northwestern University since 1964. |