5 Essential Sax Solos To Learn From Jazz’s Historical Lineage of Great Tenor Players

Chris Potter, Melissa Aldana, Kamasi Washington — These are some of jazz’s best contemporary tenor saxophonists. What is something that they all share? They share the fact that their playing is rooted in the rich historical lineage of the tenor saxophonists that came before them. This article lists 5 essential solos from Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane.

This is obviously not a comprehensive list and more than likely you will come up with 5 completely different solos which is amazing! I would love to hear what your top 5 saxophone solos are and what they mean to you! Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

1. Body and Soul – Coleman Hawkins

This is considered one of the most famous recordings of Body and Soul. Coleman Hawkins’ smooth flowing lines through the complex changes hint at a move away from the common cliches of the swing music at the time and hint at the bebop language that is come. Body and Soul as such, has become something of a tenor saxophone rite of passage to play.

2. Lester Leaps In – Lester Young

32-bar rhythm changes are one of the essential song forms for every jazz musicians to learn. This solo is a great introduction to some stylistic concepts and jazz vocabulary for any player and can serve as a foundation for beginning to study the lineage of any of the amazing tenor players that follow Lester Young.

3. Cheese Cake- Dexter Gordon

In 2019, Go! was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. For me Cheese Cake was the first full solo I ever transcribed back in high school. It was no easy feat back then and took me what felt like forever but I learned so much from that first solo and I highly recommend giving it a listen.

4. St. Thomas -Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins’ Solo on the tune St Thomas From from his album Saxophone Colossus is a master class in motivic development. After building through the beginning of the solo with a repeating rhythmic figure, he launches into some superbly tasty hard-bop lines.

5. Giant Steps – John Coltrane

Giant Steps is one of Coltrane’s most famous compositions and recordings. Considered by some to be the equivalent of jazz acrobatics it is another rite of passage for aspiring jazz musicians out there.