Introduction

The purpose of this blog is to celebrate the lights of jazz saxophone that - for any number of reasons - never burned as brightly as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins. I will be drawing from recordings in my own library and I will be working from memory, in terms of written content. You see, there was a time when the know-it-all had currency, prior to the 1990s. I straddle epochs where all knowledge was found in a library (or an old-timer) and where all knowledge is at my fingertips. I choose to work without a net on this blog and use my accumulated, old school jazz history. Here are my guidlines for posting:

• I will post a paragraph about the saxman, drawn from my own recollections of liner notes, books, conversations
• I will link to one audio track that I will post to YouTube from my own library; the saxman will be the leader on the session
• I will only feature a saxman if he was born before the the first AFM recording ban (1942)
• I will post a track where the saxman is a sideman if I feel the track is really great (i.e. the greatest tunes you've never heard)

Good listening!