Watch Your Tenor Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stan Getz

Stan Getz was born in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1927. When the depression hit his family moved to The Bronx, New York in 1929. He played several instruments but really fell in love with the tenor sax. He got his first tenor sax at age 13. He did very well in the public school system but his real talent was obviously music.

He made the New York City All-City Orchestra, a real honor for any young musician. He played with his first big band at age 16 in 1943 and did very well. He quickly moved from band to band playing with the likes of Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. From 1947 to 1949 he played lead tenor in Woody Herman's Orchestra. That orchestra featured four great saxophonists - Getz, Serge Chaloff, Zoot Simms, and Herbie Steward.

They were called "The Four Brothers." He toured the world with that group.

In 1961 he began spreading Brazilian music throughout America. In 1962 the album "Getz/Gilberto" came out. It featured Getz, Antonio Jobim, Joao and Astrud Gilberto. The most famous song from that album is "The Girl from Ipanema." Getz struggled with various addictions throughout his life.

He died of liver cancer in 1991.

Answer: Coleman Hawkins

Coleman Rudolph Hawkins was born in 1904 in St. Joseph, Missouri. At four years old he learned piano. At seven, he learned cello. At nine years old he began playing tenor. His family moved to Topeka, Kansas but they kept up Coleman's music education. He quickly became a mainstay in many important jazz bands.

In 1930 he released his most famous work - his solo of "Body and Soul." It not only gave him world wide fame but it really made the tenor an important and popular instrument. He toured all through Europe and the United States with several bands.

He was considered the master of jazz improvisation. His work and techniques have influenced all the great reed men from Chu Berry to John Coltrane. Unfortunately his was also an alcoholic and died in 1969.

Answer: Lester Young

Lester Willis Young was born in Mississippi in 1909.In his youth he moved to New Orleans and to Minneapolis. In the early 1930s he emerged as one of the greatest tenors in jazz history. His tone was not like that of the other tenors playing then. His was a lighter tone.

His riffs were more stream lined. He played with many of the greats. However, he refused to tour the American south because of the rampant racial discrimination there. He was lead tenor in the Count Basie Orchestra for many years.

His most memorable pieces are "Lester Leaps In," "Taxi War Dance," and "D.B. Blues." He died in 1959 in New York City.

Answer: Michael Brecker

Michael Leonard Brecker was born in Pennsylvania in 1945. He was introduced to reed instruments at age six. By sophomore year in high school he was already a fine tenor player. He was discovered in 1969 and worked with many bands. With his brother, Randy, and drummer Billy Cobham, he formed Dreams, a jazz-rock fusion group that lasted two years.

He then got plenty of work as both a soloist and session musician. He played with Frank Zappa, Billy Joel, Quincy Jones, George Benson, the E Street Band, and Frank Sinatra.

His tone was impeccable and his solos were magnificent. Unfortunately, he developed myelodysplastic syndrome which killed him in 2007. He died in New York City.

Answer: Gato Barbieri

Leandro Barbieri was born in 1932 and was introduced to woodwinds at an early age; he learned clarinet and alto sax before settling on the tenor. As a young man he played with Lalo Shifrin. He was greatly influenced by the "free jazz" movement-a group of musicians who felt that then current jazz genres were too restrictive and sought to free jazz from any restrictions. "El Gato" moved from jazz genre to genre.

He played "soul jazz" and "jazz pop." He said he always wanted each performance to be a whole new experience for both the audience and for him.

He died of pneumonia in 2016 in New York City.

Answer: Ben Webster

Benjamin Francis Webster was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1908. As a youth he learned violin, piano, and saxophones. He was soon recognized as a talent and got work with many bands. In the 1940s he became a soloist in the Ellington Band. He left in 1943 when he had some sort of conflict with Duke Ellington.

He was selected to be a part of Jazz at the Philharmonic. He toured and recorded with this group for several years. He then moved to Europe, living in London, Amsterdam and finally Copenhagen.

He played with both Danish jazz groups and with touring American groups. In 1973 he died from bleeding in his brain. After his death, the trustees of his estate formed The Ben Webster Foundation, a non-profit that gives money to deserving young musicians in Denmark and the United States.

They also had a Ben Webster Prize to acknowledge great young musicians. An oddity about Ben Webster: he played the same sax from 1938 to 1973. That sax is on display at the Jazz Institute at Rutgers University.

Answer: Benny Golston

There is a fabulous photo entitled "A Great Day in Harlem" by the famous photographer Art Kane. It is a photo of 57 great jazz musicians sitting or standing in front of a building in Harlem. In the movie, the father of Tom Hanks' character has the autograph of everyone in the photo except Benny Golston.

As an homage to his father, he wants the autograph collection completed. Golston was in the movie and gave him the autograph. Golston was a great bebop jazz musician. He played with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.

Answer: Illinois Jacquet

Jean-Baptiste Jacquet was born in Louisiana in 1922. His mother was Lakota and called her son "Illiniwek" which is a Lakota word for "superior man." Soon that name became "Illinois." He began his career as a young tap dancer. He moved to the drums and then to the tenor where his great talent became obvious to all.

By the time he was 19 he was playing with Lionel Hampton's band. In 1942 he recorded his great solo on "Flying Home." This is considered by many music historians to be the first R&B sax solo. Soon after that he joined Cab Calloway's band. During his entire adult life Jacquet was a fighter against racism.

He died in 2004 of a heart attack.

Answer: Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

Purists may not like how he held his sax, but his abilities were tremendous. He was born in 1922 in New York City. He was totally self-taught. For many years he was in the Count Basie Orchestra. His independent, swing style was in sharp contrast to the precision of the Basie Band. It worked! Their recordings are marvelous. He died of Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1986.

Answer: Sonny Rollins

Theodore Walter Rollins was born in Harlem in 1930. He played various instruments as a youngster but finally settled on the tenor when he was 16. His talent was soon acknowledged by the great Thelonius Monk, who Sonny saw as someone he wanted to be his mentor.

By the early 1950s all the top names in music recognized his abilities. While still in his 20's he recorded with Miles Davis. He moved to Chicago and joined the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. In 1956 he first recorded in his own name. A short while after that he felt he needed a vacation or sabbatical from music performance. That is when he decided to go to the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City late at night to just play whatever he wanted. Somehow that worked and a brilliant series of recordings followed.