Single Most Recognizable "Tone"

[catesta]

DEEP if here, would probably say, Booker Ervin. B-)

[BruceH]

Another mention for Paul Desmond.

[WD45]

For single mmost identifiable, I would go with Stanley Turrentine as well.

[wesbed]

Jackie Mclean is VERY recognizable for me.

[MartyJazz]

There are many players that I and many of us on this board can spot immediately. However, since Dan asks us to just pick one, I'd have to say in my case it would be Sonny Rollins, in all his tonal manifestations from the '50s through the present day.

In the spirit however of most who have responded here with a plethora of heavyweights and keeping in mind JSngry's point that there are also quite a number of players who haven't achieved giant stature yet nevertheless have made their mark by having developed a unique, musically interesting sound, I would also nominate this mix of musicians:

Bennie Wallace

Anthony Braxton (on alto only)

Harold Land

John Tchicai

Sam Rivers (tenor only altho his soprano sound is generally distinctive)

George Adams

Artie Shaw

Obviously, I'm more confident with the reed players.

We all realize, don't we, that Dan is compiling this list so that he can try to f**k each of us up on his next BFT.

Edited August 11, 2004 by MartyJazz

[brownie]

If the choice is down to one, Prez gets my vote!

Instant recognition! Instant gratification!

[Miles251]

I'm glad to see CT on this list. I usually can identify Clark after a couple of notes. He was "my man" as I grew into being a trumpet player/musician. Thanks to Free For All, Blue Mitchell became instantly recognizable, not only for his sound but his soulfulness as well. I think Lester Bowie also has a very unique sound, not to mention approach and should be included on my "trumpet only" list and I can always indentify Dave Douglas from a mile away. I would also add Paul Smoker to my list...man, HUGE sound and an undeniably unique vocabulary!

[Alon Marcus]

I think it depends very much on the instrument - you need to hear pianists and drumers "speak" a few phrases before recognizing. With wind istruments it's much easier for me : Coltrane, Miles, Steve Lacy, Stan Getz

Also guitarists have very distinctive tones because it depends on many unrelated factors: Playing with a pick/thumb/fingerstyle, the place where they produce the sound with the right hand (close or far to the neck), use of legato, type of guitar (electric acoustic), use of effects and etc.

Metheny, Scofield, Wes, Jim Hall all have very personal sound.

[Spontooneous]

We're three pages into this and nobody's mentioned Coleman Hawkins! The godfather of all saxophone tone. Another one you can recognize right from the first note.

[John L]

I am tempted to join Brownie and pick Pres. But what about Bechet and Ayler? How can a tone be more distinctive than that?

[EKE BBB]

For me it´s Johnny Hodges.

[Sundog]

A few others...

Paul Desmond, Charlie Christian, Shelly Manne. If I have to pick one it's got the be Charlie.

[Brad]

If it's only one, it's Bird but Monk is a close second. No one sounds or sounded like him.

[wolff]

I still can recall when I first noticed their unique sound.

Number one: Hodges...even if you are deaf.

Armstrong

Hawkins

Basie

Morgan

I like listening to those Verve/Clef ballad medleys. Individual tone/sound is really in stark relief

[paul secor]

Cecil Taylor hasn't been mentioned, and he's very recognizable to me.

Billie Holiday, while not an instrumentalist as such, was most definitely a musician, and is very recognizable.

[montg]

I started the car today and turned on the local jazz station--almost instantly I recognized Art Tatum. A few bars later a trumpter entered and it was immediately clear the player was Roy Eldridge. It's a truism--the greats really do have unique and identifiable tones (and phrasings) as this thread attests.

I suppose it's a cliche to say this, but the dificulty I have with a lot of the university-trained players today is that they all sound so similar. But maybe if I listened to the new guys more (which I'm trying to do) I could pick up some of the identifiers.

[John L]

People are interpreting the question in different ways.

There are a lot of artist who are highly distinctive and always recognizable not because of their tone, but because of their phrasing, their rhythm, their overall approach to improvisation. I would put Monk, Cecil Taylor, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane in that category, for example. Not that Bird and Trane didn't have great individual tone. But I would say that their genius lay elsewhere. Other artists like Ayler, Bechet, Webster, Pres, Getz, Hodges, Lockjaw et al hit you right away with tone alone. That was a huge part of the whole package.

[jazzbo]

Monk hits me with TONE, one note from Monk can usually signal "Monk in da house." His very touch, the very positioning of his body, I don't know, maybe the HAT, something makes him that distinctive, at least to my ears.

[John L]

Monk hits me with TONE, one note from Monk can usually signal "Monk in da house."  His very touch, the very positioning of his body, I don't know, maybe the HAT, something makes him that distinctive, at least to my ears.

Lon: Would you really recognize Monk for the tone of one note, or for the specific note that was chosen and the place that he decided to put it? I would think the latter for myself.

Edited August 12, 2004 by John L

[BruceH]

People are interpreting the question in different ways.

There are a lot of artist who are highly distinctive and always recognizable not because of their tone, but because of their phrasing, their rhythm, their overall approach to improvisation. I would put Monk, Cecil Taylor, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane in that category, for example. Not that Bird and Trane didn't have great individual tone. But I would say that their genius lay elsewhere. Other artists like Ayler, Bechet, Webster, Pres, Getz, Hodges, Lockjaw et al hit you right away with tone alone. That was a huge part of the whole package.

Very right. (Add Desmond and Artie Shaw in the 'tone' category and I'm with you 100%.)

[Free For All]

Have Jug and Arnette Cobb been mentioned?

[Bright Moments]

RRK!

B-)

[Free For All]

Of course his tone is most recognizable 'cause there's two or three at once!

[Jim Dye]

Steve Lacy!

Absolutely! When I think of a recognizable tone, Steve Lacy is the one who stands out.

[LAL]

Whether from their tone, rhythm, phrasing etc, these are the musicians I recognise easily (and who always have an impact on me):

Alto: Benny Carter and Hodges

Tenor: Hawk and Pres

Soprano: Sidney Bechet

Trumpet: Satch, Kid Thomas (that jabbing trumpet sound-unmistakable)

I find it impossible to pick out any of the drummers and bassists (probably haven't been paying enough attention to them).