When tenor saxophonist John Coltrane recorded his composition "Giant Steps" in 1959, he created something that changed the way musicians thought about improvisation and harmony. Decades earlier, the ...

In the beginning, there was Coleman Hawkins. Coleman Hawkins begat Ben Webster. And Ben Webster begat Lester Young, and Lester Young begat Charlie Parker. And Charlie Parker begat Dexter Gordon, and ...

Monk went into an emotional tailspin upon Hawkins’ death. Hawkins had been Monk’s first employer in the clubs of midtown Manhattan, and had given Monk his first recording date. Fifty years ago this ...

Sonny Rollins, one of the greatest living practitioners of jazz, bought the saxophone he still uses today on West 48th Street in Manhattan in the 1970s. Back then, the small block was dotted with so ...

When jazz fans talk about the Texas Tenor saxophone sound, they're talking about a sound which is very robust, sometimes raw, and which mixes the musical vocabularies of swing, bebop, blues and R&B.

In Robert Altman's most underappreciated film Kansas City there is a memorable scene for music fans. In the 1930's at the Hey Hey club (one of the town's hotter venues) some of the more notable K.C.

Cecil “Big Jay” McNeely, whose honking tenor saxophone helped define Los Angeles rhythm and blues and set the stage for the rock ’n’ roll explosion of the 1950s, has died. He was 91. A singular figure ...

Almost no other instrument seems so synonymous with jazz as the sax. Listen to some classic alto playing from Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stitt and more greats. Credit...Illustration by ...

A San Francisco church centered around jazz great John Coltrane, stung by the theft of a saxophone linked to its namesake ...

She was celebrated for both her playing and her love of the jazz community. “My life in music,” she said recently, “is the smartest thing I’ve done.” By Giovanni Russonello Claire Daly, who was ...

The Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. From the dulcet tones of Kenny G to the infectious hook to ...