Essential saxophone recordings: A work in progress

ByBret Pimentel

Seminal Early Concert Soloists

Mule, Marcel

Marcel Mule: Le Patron of the Saxophone (Clarinet Classics, compilation 1996)

Marcel Mule: Le Patron of the Saxophone: Encore! (Clarinet Classics, compilation 2000)

These compilations also feature recordings by the Mule Saxophone Quartet.

Wiedoft, Rudy

Kreisler of the Saxophone (Clarinet Classics, compilation [year?])

Leeson, Cecil

Rascher, Sigurd

Regrettably, recorded performances by Sigurd Rascher and Cecil Leeson are not currently in print. Important out-of-print recordings include Sigurd Rascher Plays the Saxophone, volumes I and II, formerly published by Grand Award, and The Art of Cecil Leeson, volumes I-VII, formerly available on the Enchante label.

Contemporary Concert Artists

Delangle, Claude

The Solitary Saxophone (Bis, 1994)

Unaccompanied works.

Harle, John

Saxophone Concertos (EMI, 1991)

Houlik, James

American Saxophone (Koch International Classics, 1996)

Widely regarded as the world’s leading concert tenor saxophonist.

Pittel, Harvey

Moving Along (Crystal, 1997)

Rousseau, Eugene

Saxophone Concertos (Deutsche Grammophon, 1998)

Londeix, Jean-Marie

No recordings currently available. Out-of-print recordings include Works for Saxophone and Piano (EMI, 1973) and Jean-Marie Londeix, Alto Saxophone (Golden Crest, 1975).

Saxophone Quartets and Ensembles

Mule Saxophone Quartet

See “Mule, Marcel” under Seminal Concert Soloists.

The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra

See “The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra” under Unusual Saxophones and Techniques.

Rascher Saxophone Quartet

Music for Saxophones (Cala, 1995)

Like Sigurd Rascher’s solo recordings, his recordings as leader of the Rascher Saxophone Quartet are out of print. This is a fine recent recording led by his daughter, Carina Rascher. It includes several works for saxophone quartet, plus several arrangements demonstrating the quartet’s virtuosity in a variety of styles.

World Saxophone Quartet

Plays Duke Ellington (Nonesuch, 1986)

Hollywood Saxophone Quartet

New York Saxophone Quartet

The Six Brown Brothers

Recordings by the Hollywood, New York, and Brown Brothers groups are, sadly, no longer available.

Saxophone in Chamber Music (with other instruments)

Cottrell, Steven

The Electric Saxophone (Clarinet Classics, 2001)

Saxophone works with electronic tape.

Horsch, Kyle

Chambersax (Clarinet Classics, 1999)

Chamber works with saxophone, including Webern’s op. 22 Quartet.

Seminal Jazz Soloists

Adderley, Julian “Cannonball”

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: Live at “The Club” (Capitol, 1966)

Somethin’ Else (Blue Note, 1958)

Cannonball should also be heard on Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue and Milestones.

Bechet, Sidney

Ken Burns Jazz: Sidney Bechet (Columbia/Legacy, compilation 2000)

A broad introduction to the first important jazz saxophonist on record. One of a very small handful of truly noteworthy soprano saxophonists.

Brecker, Michael

Michael Brecker (MCA/Impulse!, 1987)

Perhaps better known for his fusion bands and session work, Brecker’s debut as a leader reveals a contemporary approach to a more jazz-oriented style.

Coleman, Ornette

The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic, 1959)

The best and best-known of Coleman’s groundbreaking and controversial avant-garde jazz recordings. On this date, Coleman plays a Grafton plastic saxophone.

Coltrane, John

A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1964)

Blue Train (Blue Note, 1957)

Giant Steps (Atlantic, 1960)

My Favorite Things (Atlantic, 1961)

These are the most essential of the essential recordings by jazz’s most important and influential tenor player. Also-rans with Coltrane as leader include John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman and Ascension. Selected recordings as a sideman include Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959, Miles Davis, leader), Milestones (Columbia, 1958, Miles Davis, leader), and Mating Call (Tadd Dameron, leader). Noteworthy compilations have been released by several labels: John Coltrane: The Prestige Recordings (1956); Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (Rhino, 1959); and The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings (1998).

Getz, Stan

Getz/Gilberto (Verve, 1963)

People Time (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 1991)

Getz/Gilberto is the best of Getz’s popular bossa nova recordings; People Time is a 2-disc set of live recordings in a duo setting with pianist Kenny Barron and a fine sampling of Getz’s exceptional bop playing.

Gordon, Dexter

Go! (Blue Note, 1962)

The highest of several career peaks by the widely influential West Coast bop tenor player. A more complete overview can be found in The Complete Blue Note Sixties Sessions (Capitol, compilation 1996).

Hawkins, Coleman

Body and Soul (RCA, compilation 1996)

This album (be careful—there are several with the same title) gives the best overview of Hawkins’s peak period. Ken Burns Jazz: Coleman Hawkins (Columbia/Legacy, compilation 2000) provides a broader picture of his career, including the early recordings with the Fletcher Henderson band. Both albums include the quintessential “Body and Soul” recording of 1939.

Mulligan, Gerry

The Original Gerry Mulligan Tentet and Quartet (GNP Crescendo, 1953)

Also recommended is Miles Davis’s Birth of the Cool (Capitol, 1949).

Parker, Charlie

Blue Bird: Legendary Savoy Sessions (Definitive, compilation 2000)

Confirmation: The Best of the Verve Years (Verve, compilation 1995)

Legendary Dial Masters (Stash, compilation 1989)

These three compilations cover the most essential master takes. Savoy, Dial, and Verve have each released “complete” multi-CD sets that include alternates and partial takes.

Rollins, Sonny

Saxophone Colossus (Prestige, 1956)

Way Out West (Prestige/Contemporary, 1957)

A close runner-up is Tenor Madness (Prestige, 1956), which includes the famous title duet with John Coltrane.

Young, Lester

Ken Burns Jazz (Columbia/Legacy, compilation 2000)

This is the best single-disc collection of Young’s playing. It includes the famous Lady Be Good with Billie Holiday, sessions with the Basie band, and some of Young’s neglected post-WWII recordings. A more complete set is the 4-disc The Lester Young Story (Columbia, compilation 2000). Important small-group recordings are Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio (Verve, 1952) and Pres and Teddy (Verve, 1956) with the Teddy Wilson Quartet.

Seminal Soloists in Rock, Pop, and Related Styles

Bostic, Earl

All His Hits (King, compilation 1996)

“G,” Kenny

Greatest Hits (Arista, 1982)

McNeely, Cecil “Big Jay”

Nervous (Saxophile, compilation 1995)

Ousley, “King Curtis”

Instant Soul: The Legendary King Curtis (Razor & Tie, compilation 1994)

Randolph, Homer “Boots”

Greatest Hits (Monument, compilation 1976)

Sanborn, David

The Best of David Sanborn (Warner Bros., compilation 1994)

Unusual Saxophones and Techniques

Carter, James

Chasin’ the Gypsy (Atlantic, 2000)

Carter plays soprano and tenor saxophones, as well as the rare bass and rarer f-mezzo.

Kirk, Rahsaan Roland

The Inflated Tear (Atlantic, 1967)

One of the few multi-instrumentalists who has dared to play several at once, and one of the even fewer to pull it off. On this date, Kirk plays tenor and such saxophone cousins as the stritch and the manzello, not to mention English horn, clarinet, and flute.

The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra

Fathom This (Whaleco, 1999)

The saxophone sextet perhaps best known for using saxophones from sopranino to contrabass. Both of those, plus five in between, are heard on this album.

Rollini, Adrian

Bouncin’ in Rhythm (Pearl, compilation 1995)

A collection of recordings by the unchallenged master of the now-rare bass saxophone, with bands led by Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Venuti, and others.

Similar Posts

  • 10 jazz albums that should be in every music lover’s collection

    ByBret Pimentel

    Hello, music fans!

    Miles Davis: Kind of Blue
    You need this.

    I’ve picked out, for your listening pleasure, ten essential jazz albums, as an easy introduction to the wide world of jazz. You’re welcome.

    I’ll assume that you already love music. But maybe you’re a lifelong rocker. Or a connossieur of the great classical composers. Or maybe you like both kinds of music: country and western. No matter your taste, the jazz section of the record store can be a little bewildering.

    Let’s face it, the jazz world is a members-only club. We jazz fans love to lord our superior musical tastes over the uninitiated masses. You listen to whom? Kenny G?! I think I need to lie down.

    Plus, if you’re like me, your budget doesn’t quite allow for the latest comprehensive 40-disc boxed set from Verve or Columbia Records. Same thing goes for rare and valuable vinyl collector’s items.

    So, these ten albums have been carefully chosen to do a few things:

    • Introduce you to key jazz artists, styles, albums, and songs.
    • Keep the cost reasonable. These albums are all readily available and reasonably priced single compact discs (no expensive multidisc sets) or iTunes albums.
    • Preserve the dignity of the jazz tradition, by giving you the music in complete album format whenever possible. No samplers or compilations, except in a couple of cases where compilations are the only logical choice.
    • And, most importantly, add the pleasure and richness of the jazz world to your life!

    Let’s get going! We’ll do this in a sort of rough chronological order. Read More “10 jazz albums that should be in every music lover’s collection”

  • Review: D’Addario Select Jazz alto saxophone mouthpieces

    ByBret Pimentel

    I like mouthpieces that are easy to play, especially in terms of response and tuning. But I also really like something easy to replace; I don’t like the idea of a mouthpiece that is so expensive, variable, or rare that if I drop it I can’t just order a new one, have it in a few days, and expect it to play like the old one.

    A few years back I did a fairly detailed review of the Rico Reserve clarinet mouthpieces (in two parts), and have been happily using the Reserves as my main clarinet mouthpieces ever since. The Reserves are, in particular, astonishingly consistent from specimen to specimen, presumably due to the very precise tooling that obviates the need for hand-finishing (which sounds cool but ultimately means a relatively high degree of variability).

    The pro-line products formerly released under the Rico name are now D’Addario Woodwinds products, and they now include some alto saxophone mouthpieces, the Select Jazz series. I was pleased to hear from a contact at D’Addario Woodwinds who sent me some samples to try out.

    My point of reference is the various Meyer-ish alto mouthpieces I have played for about the last 20 years, most recently the V16 series from Vandoren. I used the A6/medium chamber for a number of years, but more recently switched to the A6/small chamber, which gave me a little more bite in my sound that works well for me in louder situations (like big band lead playing, or blues gigs here in the Mississippi Delta) without having to strain as much.

    The new D’Addario Select Jazz alto mouthpieces are currently available in three flavors, the D5M, the D6M, and the D7M. Larger numbers in the middle correspond to larger tip openings (details at D’Addario’s website). I got a couple of each to try. Each one says “medium chamber” on the box, so maybe D’Addario is considering other chamber sizes. At the moment street price seems to be a little higher than the V16s, but still basically in the same class.

    If you read the second part of my Reserve mouthpiece review, then you won’t be surprised to see that the Select Jazz mouthpieces are extremely consistent. Check out the very even and symmetrical rails and tips.

    L-R: two each of the D5M, D6M, and D7M. Click for higher resolution.
    L-R: two each of the D5M, D6M, and D7M. Click for higher resolution.

    As mentioned in a couple of other reviews, the Select Jazz mouthpieces have an unusually tight fit on the neck cork, and they chewed up my aging cork a bit. Cork grease!

    The mouthpieces have individual serial numbers, like the Reserve clarinet mouthpieces. When I asked about this during my clarinet mouthpiece review, the Rico/D’Addario rep told me there might in the future be some way of registering your mouthpiece online, maybe to access some kind of members-only content. I haven’t seen anything happen along these lines, so maybe there’s a more logical explanation, like that the numbers are just for quality control.

    Here is a sound clip of each of the six mouthpieces I received, plus my two V16 mouthpieces for comparison. For all the sound clips I used the same inexpensive fake-leather-type ligature, but different reeds, a D’Addario Select Jazz filed 3S and a filed 3M, depending on which worked best with each individual mouthpiece. The V16s and the Jazz Select D5Ms worked better with the 3M reed, and the Jazz Select D6Ms and D7Ms seemed to prefer the 3S reed.

    D’Addario Select Jazz D5M, specimen #1

    D’Addario Select Jazz D5M, specimen #2

    D’Addario Select Jazz D6M, specimen #1

    D’Addario Select Jazz D6M, specimen #2

    D’Addario Select Jazz D7M, specimen #1

    D’Addario Select Jazz D7M, specimen #2

    My old Vandoren V16 A6M

    My old Vandoren V16 A6S

     

    The differences are minor at best, and really in a pinch I could make any of these eight mouthpieces work, but here are a few observations:

    • The Select Jazz mouthpieces have noticeably more stable intonation than the V16s, especially the D5M. This is a bigger deal than tone, which is more malleable and more subjective.
    • The Select Jazz mouthpieces are, again, very consistent. This is the killer feature of D’Addario’s mouthpieces. I found the two D5Ms to be virtually interchangeable in terms of tone, response, and tuning, and the two D7Ms too. One of the D6Ms (#2) has, to my ear, just a tiny bit of an edge that I find unpleasant. I suspect that this one is slightly “off,” but the difference between the two is still quite minor compared to the differential in hand-finished production mouthpieces.
    • I do still want something with some edge to it, and the V16 small chamber still feels like is has more of that than any of the seven others, but not by much. The Select Jazz mouthpieces seem to have a bigger core and body to the sound, plus a bit higher volume, so I’m thinking it may be an acceptable tradeoff as far as making my presence known among the electric guitars.
    • Overall, I find the Select Jazz to respond better both down low in the staff and up above it than the V16s do. I didn’t play any altissimo in the sound clips, but I find the Select Jazz to have a slight advantage in that register as well.
    • The D5M and, to a lesser extent, the D6M, seem to be the best fit for my style and needs. The D7M doesn’t work as well for me—it has the louder but more spread tone and less-stable intonation you might expect from a larger tip opening—but it’s still one of the best mouthpieces I’ve played in that category, and it’s really only slightly large, not nearly as extreme as the tip openings offered by some other makers.

    I think the Select Jazz D5M is going to be my new mouthpiece. (I’m keeping a D6M in my case for now too until I can try them both on a loud blues gig, but so far the D5M has worked well for small-group jazz.) The combination of solid intonation, pretty-but-gutsy tone, budget-friendly price, and amazing consistency make this a solid, versatile, and practical option for a working saxophonist. They are great for educators, too—they are easy to recommend to students because they are so easy to play and because they are so reliable in quality (much less need to order a half-dozen on approval and hope there’s a “good” one in the bunch). A great all-around, no-nonsense alto jazz mouthpiece.

    I look forward to more offerings from D’Addario Woodwinds, perhaps alto mouthpieces in other chamber sizes, or mouthpieces for other saxophones.

  • Review: Multiple-woodwinds works by Darren Lord

    ByBret Pimentel

    I heard recently from Paul Saunders, whose compositions and publications for multiple woodwinds I have previously reviewed. He called my attention to an astonishing number of recent multiple-woodwinds compositions by Darren Lord, a musical director, keyboardist, and more who has worked on London’s West End theater scene.

    At the time of this writing, Lord’s music for multiple woodwinds includes:

    • Five volumes of mostly musical-theater-style pieces for multiple woodwinds soloist, with piano or downloadable fully-orchestrated backing tracks (with synthesized orchestra). Most or all of these pieces can also be purchased individually. (I got to look in detail at volume 2 for this review.)
    • Five recital-type pieces for multiple woodwinds soloist with piano.
    • Six pieces for quartets of multiple woodwinds players.

    All can be purchased on Lord’s website. There are also extensive audio demos, some played by Saunders and some synthesized.

    These are high-quality, worthy additions to the multiple woodwinds repertoire. And the sheer quantity and variety of available material should make Mr. Lord’s website a certain stop for anyone looking for pieces for study or performance.

    I’ve made a substantial update to my Music for woodwind doublers page to include these pieces. Please continue to keep me updated on new or rediscovered multiple woodwinds repertoire!

  • Synthetic clarinet reeds follow-up

    ByBret Pimentel

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

    I’ve posted a few times previously about synthetic reeds, which I believe are the inevitable future of woodwind playing. Last June (2025) I published an article in The Clarinet surveying the clarinet reeds currently on the market.

    Because The Clarinet doesn’t endorse specific products, I stuck to factual information about the reeds I sampled. Eight different makers sent samples, with the understanding that it wouldn’t be a “review” per se.

    I personally found some of the reeds to be surprisingly playable, and others to be dismally bad. (To be fair, some other fine players tested them too, and their conclusions didn’t always match mine.) After the article was published, I reached out to a few of the makers to see if they would be amenable to me using the free samples they had sent for a genuine review here on my blog.

    Luckily, the makers of my two favorites agreed to this, so here are some thoughts on those.

    D’Addario Venn

    D’Addario Woodwinds has sent me a number of products for review over the years, and I have been generally quite pleased with them; a number of their products are still my go-tos for clarinet and saxophone. But they are a relative newcomer to the synthetic reed market, and some first-generation samples I received a few years ago had (by a D’Addario rep’s admission) some quality concerns, so I wasn’t expecting to be wowed. But to my surprise and pleasure they turned out to be my favorites of the bunch (by a narrow margin).

    For me, these were an easy transition from my cane reeds of choice (D’Addario Reserve and sometimes Reserve Evolution). A D’Addario representative tells me the Venn synthetics are not meant to be an exact reproduction of any of their cane reeds, but a new Venn-specific cut. Still, they were familiar enough in feel that I hardly noticed the difference, and came very, very close in sound.

    In fact, after using the Venns exclusively in my studio for a few weeks, I felt confident enough to try them in an orchestral context. After playing part of a rehearsal on a Venn reed, I took advantage of a short break to switch back to a favorite cane reed for a quick comparison. To my dismay, another musician in the orchestra (a woodwind player but not a clarinetist) said, “now that’s a reed!”

    The verdict: the Venn comes pretty close to replacing cane for me, and in terms of function (response, dynamic range, articulation, etc.) seems like an equal match. But tone, though quite good, doesn’t yet seem to fully measure up, at least not for me and my setup.

    The Venn reeds look very much like real cane, in color and fibrous structure. In fact, they look so similar to cane reeds that I’ve had to be extra careful trying to keep them separate. I might welcome some distinctive marking to set them apart visually from cane.

    The Venns are smoother and slicker than cane, which feels nice on my lip but does require a little extra care to make sure I get them properly aligned on the mouthpiece.

    Légère French Cut

    Légère reeds are what pop to mind for me, and I suspect a lot of others, when I think of synthetic reeds. They were the first really viable synthetics I tried, somewhere around 25 years ago, and I have always had some since. They have been a lifesaver especially for playing larger reeds in dry climates, or instruments I play less frequently, or for woodwind doubling situations. Their product line is mature and diverse, which is an advantage over D’Addario.

    The French Cut is one of the newer models, and my favorite of the available offerings. Among the players who tested reeds with me, preferences were somewhat split between the French Cut and the also-newish European Cut.

    I also spent a few weeks playing exclusively on the French Cut clarinet reed, and found it very pleasant and easy to play. Like the Venn, it checks all my boxes for function. I do find that with my setup the French Cut has a little different tone compared to Venn and my favorite cane reeds, but only a little, and not in an unpleasant way.

    I did use the French Cut for performance in a musical theater setting, where I was playing only a small amount of clarinet and could get away with tone a little different from my usual. As expected for a synthetic reed, this was great for switching instruments without worrying about reeds drying out. (I used Légère bass clarinet and saxophone reeds on the same gig.)

    For me, they run a very close second to the Venns in terms of function and tone, but it’s a narrow enough margin to probably chalk up to personal preference or the quirks of my mouthpiece.

    Visually, they won’t be mistaken for cane—they are made in Légère’s characteristic clear synthetic material. I don’t mind the look, but if I’m careless about where I set one, it can be hard to spot from across the room. Their slightly textured surface gives them more of the grippy-ness of cane, which feels familiar on my lip and doesn’t require any special effort to place on the mouthpiece.

    Both

    The Venn and Légère synthetics, of course, both share the positive qualities of synthetic materials: longevity, consistency, and impervious-ness to climate. Both are instantly ready to play with no soaking. At the time of this writing, they seem to be selling for almost exactly the same price per reed, which is to say about the cost of a box of 10 cane reeds.

    Both brands also make saxophone reeds, which I’ve dabbled with but haven’t had as much opportunity to test thoroughly.

    Have I switched?

    As I concluded in the article in The Clarinet, I do think that there are some quite viable options for switching fully to synthetic reeds for professional playing, and these two products are certainly among them. Some world-class players have already made the switch to using synthetics exclusively.

    I personally haven’t. While I still believe synthetics are the future, I find myself in a transitional phase. I’ll keep both the Venns and the Légères on hand, and will likely continue to use both at least sporadically. But I’m not fully ready to give up my cane reeds yet.

    I suspect both companies are continuing to refine and develop their product lines, and if their next rounds of offerings are even small improvements on the current products, that may be enough for me to switch over completely.

    Or, if I decided the hassles of cane were too much, I might be able to switch to current synthetic products and adapt my playing to them. I live in a humid climate where I find cane reeds relatively easy to care for, but if I found myself performing in a drier atmosphere or higher altitude that might be enough to convince me to change. Even if I needed to change mouthpieces to get the best out of the synthetic reeds, it might well be worth it.

    Should you switch?

    I think it’s important to remember that someone else’s experiences with a product, including mine, are personal and based on a variety of factors, including what other equipment they use, the finer points of their playing technique, and many other musical and practical factors. The only good way to know if synthetics are right for you is to try them.

    That’s also why I’m not including audio samples here. You will get much more useful information by trying them yourself. (And my experience in the orchestra rehearsal was a good reminder to me that it’s worth getting an unbiased opinion from someone with good ears.)

    In any case, the high-quality synthetic reeds currently on the market are an exciting and promising development, and I look forward to what’s next.

  • Required recordings, fall 2013

    ByBret Pimentel

    As you know, I require my university woodwind students (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone) to grow their personal listening libraries by a minimum of one recording per semester. Here are this semester’s picks. They are all available from Amazon on CD or MP3 or both (links provided), and also on iTunes.

    Carolyn Hove: English Horn & Oboe

    Oboists get some key English horn repertoire this time around, as performed by the reigning queen.

    Carolyn Hove: English Horn & Oboe

    Amazon (CD)

    Repertoire: Hindemith Sonata; Salonen Second Meeting (oboe); Marvin Pieces; Persichetti Parable; Carter Pastorale; Stevens Triangles IV Read More “Required recordings, fall 2013”

  • Review and blindfold test: Légère Signature Series clarinet reeds

    ByBret Pimentel

    A few months ago, I posted about plastic reeds, and reported some of what I had read on another woodwind blog about the Légère Signature Series and Forestone clarinet reeds.

    For reasons unknown to me, the post from which I originally quoted has been removed, but there are similar thoughts expressed in a more recent post.

    Anyway, I got a kind offer from someone at Légère to send me a few samples.* They asked about my current cane reed preference, and sent three reeds in different strengths close to what I currently use.

    Goodies via Canadian mail

    Read More “Review and blindfold test: Légère Signature Series clarinet reeds”

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