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A musician playing the saxophone<\/a> is one of the most iconic images of jazz music<\/a>, and one of the genre’s most iconic sounds. Here’s oour personal take on the best jazz saxophonists ever<\/strong>.<\/p> Because he stood over six feet, Dexter Gordon was known as \u2018Long Tall Dexter\u2019. But the nickname might also have referred to the influence he cast over young tenor players in the 1940s and \u201950s: Gordon\u2019s mix of Lester Young\u2019s lithe invention and Coleman Hawkins\u2019s harmonic<\/a><\/strong> depth, leavened with Charlie Parker\u2019s brilliance, inspired a generation of saxophonists, including John Coltrane.<\/p> He started early. When he joined Lionel Hampton\u2019s band in 1940 he was just 17, and already a roguish charmer. Once, late for a gig, he walked on stage blowing when his solo spot came, bringing the house down. He became a bebop star, playing with the likes of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and, from 1947-52, established a tenor duo with Wardell Gray, performing celebrated saxophone battles.<\/p> But that partnership, and Gordon\u2019s prospects, came to an end with his imprisonment on drugs charges from 1952-54. A second conviction kept him inside from 1956-60. That this huge upheaval in his career didn\u2019t diminish his talent was revealed in a series of prime recordings, such as Go!<\/i> from 1962.<\/p> But no sooner had it appeared than Gordon upped sticks for Europe, where he remained until 1976. His return to the US was a triumph, a rediscovery of a jazzman at a time when jazz was at a low ebb. Gordon became a hero again, though his time in the limelight was curtailed by ill health.<\/p>
Contents<\/strong><\/h2>
Best jazz saxophonists: 16 to 11<\/h2>
16. Dexter Gordon (1923-1990)<\/strong><\/h3>
Later years: imprisonment, a comeback, and an Oscar nomination<\/h4>