The 29th Street Saxophone Quartet was an American saxophone quartet. [1] Established in 1982, the ensemble's members included alto saxophonists Bobby Watson and Ed Jackson, tenor saxophonist Rich Rothenberg (in more recent years, Willie Williams), and baritone saxophonist Jim Hartog. [1] The group has performed an eclectic repertoire, including jazz, show tunes, funk, rap, and original experimental works. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the band toured in Britain, Europe, Turkey, Canada and in the United States.
In an early review of the band's first extended engagement in New York City in 1984, John S. Wilson of The New York Times wrote, "The ensemble playing is clean, precise and tightly together, but the solos are filled with slashing, exuberant abandon. At times it is the very essence of loose, free jazz but it also uses the heavy, stylized sound of Stan Kenton's saxophone writing. The four musicians are choreographed in shifting formations to spotlight soloists and in dance movements that extend the musical movements." [2]
The Glasgow Herald said "the ensemble's cohesiveness and the high quality of solo playing made everything the four men played worthy of note." [3] The group maintained an international presence and recorded several CDs and is still in existence today. [4]
James Louis Johnson was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to wide prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he went on to join Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, and from there he co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader.
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years.
The World Saxophone Quartet is an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music.
Julius Arthur Hemphill was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute.
Arthur Murray Blythe was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer. He was described by critic Chris Kelsey as displaying "one of the most easily recognizable alto sax sounds in jazz, big and round, with a fast, wide vibrato and an aggressive, precise manner of phrasing" and furthermore as straddling the avant garde and traditionalist jazz, often with bands featuring unusual instrumentation.
Philip Wells Woods was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer.
John Arnold Griffin III was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of his death. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
Walter Dewey Redman was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett.
Thomas William Ellis Smith is a Scottish jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator.
George Rufus Adams was an American jazz musician who played tenor saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. He is best known for his work with Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Roy Haynes and in the quartet he co-led with pianist Don Pullen, featuring bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Dannie Richmond. He was also known for his idiosyncratic singing.
Robert Berg was an American jazz saxophonist.
Hamiet Bluiett was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A member of the World Saxophone Quartet, he also played the bass saxophone, E-flat alto clarinet, E-flat contra-alto clarinet, and wooden flute.
Charlie Rouse was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years.
Robert Michael Watson Jr., known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator.
Iain Ballamy is a British composer and saxophonist. He is considered one of the greatest modern jazz saxophonists.
Frank Morgan was a jazz saxophonist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He mainly played alto saxophone but also played soprano saxophone. He was known as a Charlie Parker successor who primarily played bebop and ballads.
Of Human Feelings is an album by American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Ornette Coleman. It was recorded on April 25, 1979, at CBS Studios in New York City with his band Prime Time, which featured guitarists Charlie Ellerbee and Bern Nix, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummers Calvin Weston and Coleman's son Denardo. It followed the saxophonist's failed attempt to record a direct-to-disc session earlier in March of the same year and was the first jazz album to be recorded digitally in the United States.
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque. From 1992 to 1995 he led the Tonight Show Band.
Charles Davis was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Davis played alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, and performed extensively with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra.