In my early teens I stumbled upon Charlie Parker, stuff like Salt Peanuts made a big impact.
The past decade or so I’ve been enjoying Pharaoh Sanders, John Gilmour & others…only just stating to really appreciate the genius of John.
The past few years Albert Ayler has made me smile even more than Charlie, John (Coltrane or Gilmour), or Pharaoh did with this & this sorta stuff.
I’m a big fan of John Coltrane but the noises Albert makes on his horn seem to often be a wonderful step beyond John.
Who are your sax heroes and which tracks do you love and return to?
Man, it depends on what you like.
Charlie Parker and John Coltrane were geniuses at improvisation and I love hearing the brilliant ideas they came up with on the spot and incredible technique, but they didn’t experiment much with tone, timbre, different types of sounds, etc. - their playground was notes and rhythm. John Gilmour may not be quite in the same league, but he was close.
Albert Ayler, on the other hand, didn’t limit himself to just notes and rhythms - he really explored all of the different sounds you can make.
Have you listened to much Eric Marienthal? I don’t think anyone would put him in the same league as absolute legends like Bird or Trane, but he’s an extremely talented player and I love how he effortlessly makes use of the full range of the instrument including high altissimo, and a variety of growls, honks, and other sounds - without going too far “out there” - he’s still pretty straight-ahead and accessible with his solos. His solo on Sister Sadie here (starting at about 1:25) is a great example of his style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RUHCt3jzyo