Number 8 on my all-time saxophone list: Eric Dolphy, for his work with Mingus, Coltrane, and Ornette. I like him most on bass clarinet, which isn't exactly a saxophone. In any case, he has a unique, instantly recognizable style, defined by unusually wide intervals and a rhythmic approach I cannot exactly define. Why is he not higher on my list? I feel he plays the same style no matter what the circumstances or tune. He doesn't solo on the song being played as much as he simply plays "Eric Dolphy." The duet with Mingus on 'What Love" from the Mingus at Antibes album is my favorite performance-- along with the village vanguard sessions with 'Trane and Ornette's "Free Jazz." That he could actually play with Coltrane without being overwhelmed shows how powerful a player he is.

Number 7: Lee Konitz.