Jazz Alto Saxophone Players

I have spent the most time practicing and performing on the tenor saxophone. Second, for me, is the Soprano Sax. I play the Eb horns; Alto Sax & Baritone Sax as well, with Bari being more common for me to perform on and lastly, alto which I rarely perform on. However, I spend a TON of time playing the alto because most kids start on alto and I teach a lot.

When I have a student that wants to “learn jazz” or how to “solo better”, etc., my first question is always, “do you listen to jazz?” It never ceases to amaze me how many say no. This is when I start reeling off names followed by a question mark and the most common answer is, “nope, nope…nope, mmmm?”

So this list, originally compiled by my friend Tim O’Dell and now regularly being updated by me, is here for budding jazz alto saxophone players to refer to when starting their listening adventures. If you want to play jazz alto saxophone, you should LISTEN. A LOT! Get busy! This is going to be very fun OR, you’re going to discover that you’d really rather play zither in a jug band.

Doc Poston 1895
Stomp Evans 1900
Frankie Trumbauer 1900 – alto/C-melody
Don Redman 1900
Jimmy Lunceford 1902
Hilton Jefferson 1903
Buster Smith 1904
Otto Hardwicke 1904
Jimmy Dorsey 1904
Johnny Hodges 1906
Benny Carter 1907
Russell Procope 1908
Willie Smith 1908
Louis Jordan 1908
Tab Smith 1909
Budd Johnson 1910
Marshall Royal 1912
Woody Herman 1913
Earl Bostic 1913
Earle Warren 1914
Eddie Vinson 1917

Charlie Parker 1920
Jerome Richardson 1920
John La Porta 1920
Buddy Collette 1921
Ted Nash 1922
Charlie Mariano 1923
Hal McKusick 1924
Sonny Stitt 1924
Paul Desmond 1924