Tenor Giants

John Coltrane

John Coltrane was always surrounded by music. He started off playing the E flat horn and clarinet and then in high school influenced by the likes of Lester Young and Johnny Hodges he switched to the alto saxophone. He was called to military service during WWII, where he performed in the U.S. Navy Band in Hawaii.

After the war he began playing the tenor saxophone. His work with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1958 would lead to his own musical evolution. " Miles music gave me plenty of freedom," he once said. During that period, he became known for using the three-on-one chord approach, and what has been called the ‘sheets of sound,’ a method of playing multiple notes at one time. By 1960 Coltrane had formed his own quartet which included pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison.

Stan Getz

In 1940 his dad bought him an alto saxophone for $35.00 when Stan was 13 years old. He moved on quickly to play all of the saxophones, as well as the clarinet. But he really loved the sound of the tenor saxophone.

Stan was hired by Stan Kenton and was able to play with his idol Lester Young. He worked with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.

Check out this YouTube video of John Coltrane and Stan Getz

John Coltrane, tenor; Stan Getz, tenor; Oscar Peterson, piano; Jimmy Cobb, drums.