Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

Ralph A. Miriello, Contributor

Freelance Jazz Journalist

Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano

Saxophone Performances
02/07/2017 05:24 pm ET | Updated Feb 08, 2018

The soprano Saxophone has been the stepchild to its large

brothers, the Alto and Tenor saxophones in jazz music. Despite a
lineage that dates to the early twenties, the soprano was not
widely used as a solo instrument in many early jazz recordings,
with most soloists preferring the clarinet for its warmer, richer
sound. The soprano is typically found as a straight barreled
instrument although small curved horns that look like baby alto
saxophones with a straighter crook are also in use. The saxophone
was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1846. Modern soprano instruments
have a range of between Ab3 to E6 pitched one octave higher

1 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
register allowing them to play even higher.

Sidney Bechet photo credit unknown

It has been said that the great Sidney Bechet, a New Orleans born
classically trained musician, discovered a quality soprano
saxophone while on tour in England with Marion Cook’s Southern
Syncopated Orchestra, sometime around 1920. Bechet, who was a
world class clarinetist, wanted a solo instrument that could better
stand up to the louder brass cornets and trombones of the era. In
the soprano, he found that the bright, piercing sound of the
instrument had the strong, clear voice he was looking for and
people started to notice. Bechet is considered by many to be the
father of the soprano saxophone in jazz. While certainly the most
celebrated player of his era, he was not the only practitioner of this
quirky horn back in the twenties. The first record that I found
featuring Bechet on a serpentine soprano solo was from Clarence
Williams Blue Five recording of “Wild Cat Blues” recorded on July
23, 1923 in NYC. Boyd Atkins was famously heard several years
later playing a momentous soprano saxophone solo while with
Louis Armstrong and his Stompers on “Chicago Breakdown” from

2 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Johnny Hodges and Otto Hardwick to play soprano as a section
instrument in his orchestra, but on occasion the soprano was
featured as a solo instrument as with Johnny Hodges beautiful
work on “Harmony in Harlem” from 1937.

Lucky Thompson photo credit unknown

By the nineteen forties the premier practitioner of the soprano was

the inimitable multi-reedist Lucky Thompson. You can hear some of
his brilliant work while he was in Paris back in October 1960 on a
session where he recorded the sensuous “Lover Man.” Thompson
became disenchanted with the music business in the United States
and moved to Paris from 1957-1962. It was after all Paris that had so
thoroughly embraced Sidney Bechet in the early twenties both

3 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
had ties to the French language and to French colonialism in
hometown of New Orleans. It was here that Thompson, though
predominantly known as a tenor player, became more interested in
the soprano and would continue to pioneer its use in more modern
jazz. You can hear the man’s brilliant command of this difficult
instrument on such tunes as Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Way” from
his 1964 album Lucky Strikes.

By the late fifties and into the sixties another young saxophonist
was starting to go his own way on the instrument, abandoning his
Dixieland roots and focusing exclusively on the high register horn
with a more modern approach. Saxophonist Steven Norman
Lackritz aka Steve Lacy is perhaps best known as the soprano’s
modern-day Sidney Bechet. His debut album was aptly titled
Soprano Sax and was recorded in 1957. After playing with
Thelonious Monk he became enamored with the quirky pianist’s
compositions and rarely performed or recorded without including
at least one Monk tune in his repertoire. Lacy also adventured into
the avant-garde and the experimental music scene. His work and
the work of saxophonist John Coltrane on the soprano would
influence legions of players that followed.

4 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

Steve Lacy photo credit unknown

Reportedly Miles Davis purchased a soprano for his saxophonist at

the time John Coltrane, while the group was on tour in Europe in
March of 1960. Coltrane started progressively using the straight
horn and he soon after broke from Davis to form his own group
with McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass and Elvin Jones
on drums. At that time only Steve Lacy was actively utilizing the
instrument in jazz. The instrument had little reach outside its
limited use in the world of jazz until saxophonist John Coltrane
made his ground-breaking album My Favorite Things using his
soprano. The adventurous Coltrane made the soprano soar on this
modal exploration of a Rogers and Hammerstein song from the
Broadway show The Sound of Music. The song was transformed
into a hypnotically driven, raga inspired chant whose melody was
immediately familiar despite its wildly exploratory improvisational
forays over a repeated vamp. It became an instant hit and a vital
bridge to an expanding non-jazz audience. It also opened the
doors for many future players to explore the transcendental,

5 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
instrumentalist ( not yet Rahsaan) Roland Kirk played a manzello
quite proficiently. The manzello is a King saxello soprano
saxophone with an extended bell. Kirk made his statement on the
instrument in the late sixties with his “A Handful of Fives.”

Since Coltrane, world and jazz music has seen a proliferation of

players who have taken the instrument down new and unexpected
paths. When fusion came on the scene in the early seventies,
mixing the bombast of rock with the improvisational bravado of
jazz, the soprano found its way into the music. Saxophonist’s like
Pharaoh Sanders, a Coltrane disciple, took the music into a spiritual
mode allowing us all to “Astral Travel” with or without the aid of
hallucinogens from his 1971 album Thembi.

Multi-reed players who mostly played tenor would occasionally

feature their soprano skills throughout their careers. Notable
players like Zoot Sims, who came to the soprano relatively late in
his career, did a beautiful version of “Moonlight in Vermont” from
his 1976 album Soprano Sax. The masterful Jerome Richardson
was no stranger to the soprano and his work can be heard from the
early fifties into the late nineties on such big bands as the Mingus
Big Band and Oliver Nelson’s Big Band. His work is represented
here as a featured solist in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra on
the song “The Waltz You Swang for Me” from the 1968 live at the
Village Vanguard recording. At the same time Bechet devotees
like Bob Wiber and Kenny Davern would keep the Dixieland spirit
of the old master alive, although admittedly modernized, with
songs like “Song of Songs” a dueling soprano performance from
1977.

No list of soprano masters would be complete without the

extraordinary work of the great Wayne Shorter. His legionnaire

6 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
trailblazingly beautiful. Perhaps one of his most memorable
performances for me was “Beauty and the Beast” from his seminal
album Native Son from 1974.

Other notable soprano players included Dave Liebman, Joe Farrell,

Gerry Niewood, Joshua Redman, John Lurie, Jane Ira Bloom, Jane
Bunnett, Jan Gabarek, John Surman, Klaus Doldinger, Kenny
Garrett, Steve Wilson, Sonny Fortune, Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes,Bill
Kirchner, Bob Sheppard, Chris Cheek, Chris Potter, James Carter,
George Brooks, Jeff Coffin and Paul Mc Candless. The saxophonist
Branford Marsalis has become a superb player on the soprano and
has distinguished himself from a fine field of newer players. The
avant-garde modernist Evan Parker has carved himself his own
place with a sound like no other. The inimitable Sam Newsome is in
a class by himself having taken the instrument into new areas of
sonic experimentation and texture.

In the field of popular crossover, soprano saxophonists that come

to mind are Grover Washington Jr, Bob Mintzer of the
Yellowjackets, and Jay Bechinstein of Spyro Gyra, and in the
smooth jazz arena there is Dave Koz, Najee and of course Kenny G
to name a few. Amazingly it is Kenny G’s soprano saxophone on
“Going Home” that has probably been the most played song on
the instrument in its history! It is often used in China, even twenty-
five years after it was recorded, to signal to shoppers that it is
closing time and indeed time to go home.

I could not have assembled such a well studied list without the
generous help of saxophonist, arranger and educator Bill Kirchner,
multi-reedist Scott Robinson, and saxophonists Michael Blake and
Dave Anderson. To them I offer my sincerest thanks. With the
above brief history, and acknowledging in advance to having

7 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
aware of, here are my picks for twenty-five great jazz soprano
saxophone performances in roughly chronological order:

Sidney Bechet “Wild Cat Blues” from Clarence Williams Blue Five;
Sidney Bechet, sop sax; Clarence Williams, piano; Thomas Morris,
cornet; John Mayfield, trombone; Buddy Christian, banjo.
Recorded in NYC 1923

Wild Cat Blues - Sidney Bechet with Clarence Williams' Blue Five

Boyd Atkins: “Chicago Breakdown” from Louis Armstrong and His

Stompers with Louis Armstrong, trumpet; Boyd Atkins, sop sax;
Frank Walker, baritone sax; Rip Bassett, banjo/guitar; Earl Hines,
piano; Albert Washington, tenor sax; Honore Dutry, trombone; Bill
Wilson, cornet; Tubby Hall drums. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois
1927

8 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Chicago Breakdown

Johnny Hodges: “Harlem in Harmony” with the Duke Ellington

Orchestra recorded in September 20, 1937 in NYC with Johnny
Hodges , sop sax; Duke Ellington, piano; Rex Stewart, cornet;
Cootie Williams, Arthur Whetsel, Freddie Jenkins, trumpets; Joe
Nanton, Lawrence Brown, trombones; Juan Tizol valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet; Otto Hardwick, alto and clarinet; Harry
Carney, baritone sax; Freddy Guy, guitar; Billy Taylor, bass, Sonny
Greer, drums.

Duke Ellington - Harmony In Harlem

9 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
November 1, 1957 at Van Gelder studios in Hackensack , NJ with
Wynton Kelly, piano; Buell Neidinger, bass; Dennis Charles, drums.

Lucky Thompson: “In A Sentimental Mood” from his album Lucky

Strikes recorded September 15, 1964 at Van Gelder Studios in
Hackensack, NJ with Lucky Thompson, sop sax; Hank Jones,
piano; Richard Davis, piano; Connie Kay , drums.

10 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
In A Sentimental Mood - Lucky Thompson

John Coltrane: “My Favorite Things” for his album My Favorite

Things recorded October 21,24 and 26th 1960 with John Coltrane,
sop sax; McCoy Tyner, piano; Steve Davis, bass; Elvin Jones,
drums.

My Favorite Things - John Coltrane [FULL VERSION] HQ

11 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Inflated Tear recorded November 27-31, 1967 with Roland Kirk,
manzello; Ron Burton, piano; Steve Novosel, bass; Jimmy Hopps,
drums; Dick Griffin, trombone.

Jerome Richardson: “The Waltz You Swang for Me” from his work
on the album Monday Night Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra live
at the Village Vanguard album from October 1968 recorded at the
Village Vanguard in NYC with Jerome Richardson, sop sax; Richard
Davis , bass; Thad Jones, flugelhorn; Mel Lewis, drums, Roland
Hanna, piano; Jerry Dodgian, alto sax; Seldon Powell, tenor sax;
Eddie Daniels, tenor sax; Pepper Adams, baritone sax; Richard
Williams, SnookyYoung, Danny Moore, Jimmy Nottingham,
trumpets; Jimmy Knepper, Garnet Brown, Jimmy Cleveland, Cliff
Heather, trombones.

12 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra- The Waltz You Swang for Me

Pharaoh Sanders: “Astral Traveling” from his album Thembi

recorded November 1970 and January 1971 in California with
Pharoah Sanders sop sax; Lonnie Liston Smith, Fender Rhodes;
Michael White, violin; Cecil McBee, bass; Clifford Jarvis, drums.

Pharoah Sanders - Astral Travelling

13 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
from Elvin Jones Merry Go Round recorded Feb 12, and December
16, 1971 at Van Gelder Studios, Engelwood Cliffs, NJ with Dave
Liebman, Joe Farrell and Steve Grossman, sop saxes; Elvin Jones,
drums, Gene Perla, bass; Jan Hammer, electric piano; Don Alias,
oriental bells.

Subscribe to HuffPost's Culture

email
Everything from what to watch to cocktail party
fodder you'll love.

address@email.com SUBSCRIBE
Here is a live performance of the group in France in 1972
unfortunately without the great Joe Farrell or Don Alias, and with
Steve Grossman on tenor.

14 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Elvin Jones Quartet - Bright Piece (Live video 1973)

Joe Farrell: “La Fiesta” from Chick Corea’s Return to Forever

recorded February 2nd & 3rd, 1972 in London with Joe Farrell, sop
sax; Chick Corea, electric piano; Stanley Clarke, bass; Airto
Moreira, drums and percussion; Flora Purim , vocals and
percussion; “La Fiesta” starting at 38:00 minute mark

15 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
in Boston, Mass in Spring of 1973 with Grover Washington Jr., sop
sax; Bill Meek, Fender Rhodes; Charles Fambrough, bass; Daryl
Brown, drums.

RARE Grover Washington Jnr - Invitation. Boston, 1973

Wayne Shorter: “Beauty and the Beast” from his album Native Son
recorded in 1974 with Wayne Shorter, sop sax; Milton Nascimento,
vocals; David Amaro, guitar; Jay Graydon, bass; Herbie Hancock,
piano and keyboards; Wagner Tiso, organ; Dave McDaniel, bass;
Roberto Silva, drums; Airto Moreira, percussion.

16 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Beauty And The Beast — Wayne Shorter - Native Dancer (1975) Vinyl LP

Zoot Sims: “Moonlight in Vermont” from his album Zoot Sims-

Soprano Sax recorded January 8th and 9th 1976 at RCA Studios
NYC with Ray Bryant, piano; George Mraz, bass; Grady Tate, drums.

Zoot Sims on soprano - Moonlight in Vermont

Bob Wilber and Kenny Davern: “Song of Songs” from a live

17 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Kenny Davern, straight sop sax; Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar; Geroge
Duvivier, bass; Bobby Rosengarten, drums.

Gerry Niewood: “Joy” from his album Gerry Niewood and

Timepiece from 1976 with Gerry Niewood, sop sax; Dave Samuels,
electric vibes; Rick Laird, bass; Ron Davis, drums.

Gerry Niewood and Timepiece- Joy

Klaus Doldinger: “Ataraxia Part 1 and 2” from the album by his

group Passport Ataraxia recorded in Germany 1978 with Klaus
Doldinger sop sax and keyboards; Dieter Petereit, bass; Willie
Ketzer, drums; Roy Louis, guitars; Hendrik Schaper, keyboards;
Elmer Louis, percussion.

18 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Passport - Ataraxia Part 1 & 2

Dick Oatts: “Ding Dong Ding” from the Mel Lewis and the Jazz
Orchestra with Bob Brookmeyer recorded live at the Village
Vanguard 1980 with Dick Oatts sop sax; Jim McNeely, piano; Rufus
Reid, Bass; Mel Lewis, drums; Bob Mintzer, Steve Coleman, Gary
Pribeck, Richard Perry, reeds; Bob Brookmeyer, trombone and
arranger; Earl McIntyre, John Mosca, Lee Robertson, Lolly
Bienenfeld, trombones; Earl Gardner, Larry MosesRon Tooley,
trumpets; Stepahnie Fauber, French horn.

Jane Ira Bloom: “The Man with the Glasses” from her album Mighty
Lights recorded at Vanguard Studios in NYC November 17 and 18,
1982 with Jane Ira Bloom, sop sax; Charlie Haden, bass; Fred
Hersch, piano; Ed Blackwell, drums.

19 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Jane Ira Bloom - The Man With Glasses

Chris Cheek: “Ice Fall” from his album Vine recorded 1999 with
Chris Cheek , sop sax; Brad Mehldau, electric piano, Kurt
Rosenwinkel, guitar; Matt Penman, bass; Jorge Rossy, drums.

20 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Chris Cheek - Ice Fall

Sam Newsome: “Toy Tune” from the Orrin Evans Album Grown
Folk Bizness released in Oct 1999 with Sam Newsome, sop sax;
Orrin Evans, piano; Rodney Witaker, bass; Ralph Peterson, drums.

Branford Marsalis: “The Ruby and the Pearl” from his album
Eternal recorded October 7-10th, 2003 with Branford Marsalis, sop
sax; Joey Calderazzo, piano, Eric Revis Bass, Jeff “Tain” Watts,
drums.

21 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Branford Marsalis - The Ruby and the Pearl

Paul McCandless: “May or Mai” live in concert with Antonio

MOST SHARED
Calogero in Messina, Italy on November 28, 2007 with Paul
McCandless, sop sax; Antonio Calogero, classical guitar.

Pete Davidson Kate ‘MyPillow Cathy Anne On Tiffany

Is John McKinnon Still Guy’ Gets ‘SNL’ Has The Haddish
Krasinski’s Losing Her Conspiracy Answer For Makes Out
Pam In ‘The Mind On ‘SNL’ Theories From Insurrectionists: with Common
Office’- Because His Talking Throw The in Steamy
Themed ‘SNL’ Nothing’s Pillow In ‘SNL’ Nazis In Prison Silhouette
Monologue Working Takedown Challenge
TMZ

22 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Antonio Calogero & Paul McCandless - May or Mai - Classical Guitar & S…

Russian Deal Or No Deal: Girl Discovers 220- Trump Loses Lead

Intelligence COVID-19 Aid Tests Million-Year-Old Impeachment
Cultivated Donald Biden ‘Work Dinosaur Footprint Lawyers A Week
Trump For Together’ Plea On Beach Walk Before Trial
Decades, Says With Dad
Former KGB Agent

U.S. Pauses Plan Lincoln Project Texas City Creator Of ‘Bernie’

To Give COVID-19 Threatens Lawsuit Councilman Mittens Partners
Vaccine To After Rudy Giuliani Posted Photo Of With Vermont
Guantanamo Falselyfrom
Kenny Garrett: “Detroit” LinksSeeds from
Noose
theAfter
Underground Teddy Bear Maker
Prisoners Group To Capitol Insurrection,
released April 2012Riot
with Kenny Garrett,Saying
sop sax; Benito Gonzales,
‘Let ‘Em
Hang’
piano; Nat Reeves, bass, Rudy Bird Percussion; Ronald Bruner
drums; Nedelka Prescod, vocal.

NEWS POLITICS

ENTERTAINMENT LIFE

COMMUNITIES HUFFPOST PERSONAL

VIDEO NEWSLETTERS

23 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

!
Kenny Garrett - Detroit

Jan Gabarek: live at Mai Jazz Festival in Stvanger Cocnert in

Norway, 2013 with Jan Gabarek, sop sax; Rainer Brǘninghaus,
keyboards; Trilok Gurtu, drums; Youri Daniel , bass.

Jan Garbarek Group - Maijazz 2013, Part 2 of 6

You may also like to check out my Twenty-Five Great Jazz Baritone
24 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am
Twenty-Five Great Jazz Soprano Saxophone Performances | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twenty-five-great-jazz-so_b_146...

by clicking here. Or if your into jazz flute my Twenty-Five Great

Jazz Flute Perfromances by clicking here.

MORE:
Arts Branford Marsalis Steve Lacy Kenny G John Coltrane

Popular in the Community

25 of 25 01/02/2021 A, 12:08 am