National Saxophone Day (Pt. 2)!! Famous instruments…

Lester Young’s tenor sax

Don Byas’s famous snake octave key

Ben Webster’s horn

All photographs courtesy of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers.

National Saxophone Day!! A look at some of the greats…

I had no idea this was a national holiday but it is… Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, invented the saxophone in 1841. He may have invented it but Coleman Hawkins birthed it as a modern instrument. Here is a look at a few my all-time favorite sax players to celebrate this idiosyncratic holiday.

Coleman Hawkins

Don Byas

Charlie Rouse

 

John Coltrane

 

Happy Belated Birthdays, Clifford Brown & Lou Donaldson!

“Wee Dot” from A Night At Birdland

Clifford Brown (trumpet), Lou Donaldson (alto sax), Horace Silver (piano), Curly Russell (bass), Art Blakey (drums) / recorded 1954 for Blue Note Records

Clifford Brown born Oct 30th; Lou Donaldson born Nov 1st.

Bop and Beyond (Fall 2009 edition):

There’s a new episode of Bop and Beyond available for download featuring the music of Dave Bailey, Jaki Byard, Tiny Grimes, Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Stitt, Paul Gonsalves, Von Freeman, and Thelonious Monk.

Download is available here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HRLEMH4S

New Jazz Review: Hank Mobley’s Soul Station

Hank Mobley’s Soul Station is a definitive jazz masterpiece.

Read the review here.