Today is a Saxy Day! Two Birthdays of incredible Tenor Saxophonists!

Happy Birthday to Sonny Stitt!

Sonny Stitt was born on February 2, 1924, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was known for his warm tone and recorded more than 100 albums. It is documented that he made more records than any instrumentalist in jazz history.

He was most active during the bebop and hard bop era of jazz music. He began his career playing with Dizzy Gillespie in the 1940s. He was often compared to Charlie Parker in his early years, when he switched to Tenor he would still get comparisons but not as often.

“Mr. Stitt ran into Parker on the street shortly before Parker’s death in 1955, he said, according to Mr. Stitt, ”Man, I’m handing you the keys to the kingdom.” – The New York Times

Happy Birthday to Stan Getz!

Stan Getz was born on February 2, 1927, in Philadelphia, PA!

A warm, lyrical, song-like tone. He is most known for his contributions to Bossa Nova and his collaboration with João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Astrud Gilberto in the song “The Girl From Ipanema”.

However, his career before the Bossa was quite vibrant and successful. He played with people such as Benny Goodman and even led quartets and quintets that led way to discoveries of musicians such as Horace Silver, Jimmy Raney, and more.

John Coltrane once said of Getz’s style, “Let’s face it – we’d all sound like that if we could.”