ENDEIT

Jazz alto saxophonists

71 jazz musicians in the atlas play alto saxophone, including John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Manu Dibango and Benny Carter. Open a profile for dates, discography and line-ups.

The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭, smaller than the B♭ tenor but larger than the B♭ soprano. It is the most common saxophone and is used in popular music, concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, pep bands, carnatic music, and jazz (such as big bands, jazz combos, swing music). The alto saxophone had a prominent role in the development of jazz. Influential jazz musicians who made significant contributions include Don Redman, Jimmy Dorsey, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz, Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Art Pepper, Paul Desmond, and Cannonball Adderley.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

John Coltrane 1926–1967 · American jazz saxophonist (1926–1967) Charlie Parker 1920–1955 · American jazz saxophonist (1920–1955) Ornette Coleman 1930–2015 · American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and… Manu Dibango 1933–2020 · Cameroonian musician and songwriter, recording artist… Benny Carter 1907–2003 · American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter… Wayne Shorter 1933–2023 · American jazz saxophonist and composer (1933–2023) Kenny G b. 1956 · American saxophonist John Zorn b. 1953 · American composer, saxophonist and bandleader Cannonball Adderley 1928–1975 · American jazz saxophonist (1928–1975) Paquito D'Rivera b. 1948 · Cuban musician Lee Konitz 1927–2020 · American jazz musician (1927–2020) Eric Dolphy 1928–1964 · American jazz musician (1928–1964) Paul Desmond 1924–1977 · American jazz musician (1924-1977) Artie Shaw 1910–2004 · American clarinetist, composer, and bandleader (1910-2004) Lou Donaldson 1926–2024 · American saxophonist (1926–2024) Phil Woods 1931–2015 · American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader… Candy Dulfer b. 1969 · Dutch saxophonist and singer David Sanborn 1945–2024 · American saxophonist (1945-2024) Sadao Watanabe b. 1933 · Japanese jazz saxophonist, composer, bandmaster (1933-) Femi Kuti b. 1962 · Nigerian musician Michał Urbaniak 1943–2025 · Polish jazz musician (1943–2025) Oliver Nelson 1932–1975 · American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger… Bud Shank 1926–2009 · American jazz saxophonist and flautist (1926–2009) Michael Brecker 1949–2007 · American jazz saxophonist and composer (1949-2007) Kenny Garrett b. 1960 · American musician Jimmy Dorsey 1904–1957 · American clarinetist, alto saxophonist, bandleader, and… John Lurie b. 1952 · American musician, painter and actor (born 1952) John Tchicai 1936–2012 · Danish free jazz saxophonist (1936–2012) Oliver Lake b. 1942 · American musician (born 1942) Sonny Fortune 1939–2018 · American saxophonist (1939–2018) Gary Bartz b. 1940 · American jazz saxophonist (born 1940) Hank Crawford 1934–2009 · American saxophonist (1934-2009) Steve Coleman b. 1956 · American saxophonist James Carter b. 1969 · American musician Arthur Blythe 1940–2017 · American musician (1940–2017) Bobby Watson b. 1953 · American saxophonist and composer Mark Turner b. 1965 · American saxophonist and composer Charles McPherson b. 1939 · American jazz alto saxophonist (born 1939) George Coleman b. 1935 · American jazz saxophonist (b. 1935) Julius Hemphill 1938–1995 · American saxophonist (1938-1995) Eddie Vinson 1917–1988 · American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist… Richie Cole 1948–2020 · American jazz saxophonist, composer, and arranger… Rolf Kühn 1929–2022 · German jazz clarinetist, composer and big band leader… Donald Harrison b. 1960 · American musician (born 1960) Vincent Herring b. 1964 · American jazz musician (born 1964) Lou Marini b. 1945 · American saxophonist, arranger and composer Stefano di Battista b. 1969 · Italian musician Jerome Richardson 1920–2000 · American jazz multi-instrumentalist Najee b. 1957 · American musician (born 1957) Jesper Thilo 1941–2026 · Danish jazz musician Tineke Postma b. 1978 · Dutch saxophonist Sahib Shihab 1925–1989 · American jazz musician, saxophonist and flutist (1925–1989) James Chance 1953–2024 · American saxophonist, composer, singer and pianist… Pierre Favre b. 1937 · Swiss jazz drummer and percussionist Benjamin Herman b. 1968 · Dutch saxophonist John Handy b. 1933 · American jazz musician Don Menza b. 1936 · American jazz saxophonist Makanda Ken McIntyre 1931–2001 · American jazz musician and composer (1931-2001) Bruno Spoerri b. 1935 · Swiss musician Leszek Żądło b. 1945 · Polish jazz musician Ross Mintzer b. 1987 · American jazz saxophonist, guitarist, singer-songwriter… Vi Redd 1928–2022 · American jazz altosaxophonist, singer and educator… Alan Wakeman b. 1947 · English musician Jimmy Lyons 1933–1986 · American jazz saxophonist (1931-1986) Craig Handy b. 1962 · American tenor saxophonist Tia Fuller b. 1976 · American musician Pony Poindexter 1926–1988 · American musician (1926-1988) Carlos Ward 1940–2026 · American musician Toots Mondello 1911–1992 · American musician (1911-1992) Mike Osborne 1941–2007 · British musician (1941–2007) Norris Turney 1921–2001 · American musician (1921-2001)