Great Saxophone Artists and Albums


I'm looking for well recorded masterpiece of saxophone albums. Can you recommend a few artists and their albums. I was familiar with Kenny G's - that was over 10 years ago. Any other different styles and genre of saxophone performers?

Thanks.
r0817
What are the different types/ genre of saxophone music besides Jazz?

Saxophone is most closely associated with the Jazz and Rock genres. There are plenty of sub-genres that fall within the umbrella of Jazz but that is another discussion. A better way to look at the saxophone is to get to know the different types of saxophones and who plays which. Generally the types are: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. Get to know how these look, sound and who plays each. You are doing pretty good if you can tell an alto from a tenor by ear. Might be hard for a novice but not for an experienced listener. You will really be doing good when you can tell the difference between two alto players by ear (for example Paul Desmond vs Art Pepper). Yes, they both played alto, but each had his own "sound." Ditto for any other tenor players, soprano players, etc. Approach it this way and you will never get bored.

Two guys worth checking out but not previously mentioned in this thread: Dave Liebman and Mark Turner.
The saxophone has been incorporated into 20th century classical music. However, if you want to hear something different and gorgeous, try Bach's Art of the Fugue by the New Century Saxophone Quartet
Excellent recommendation by Gsm18439. The sound of a schooled saxophone quartet bears an uncanny similarity to that of a pipe organ, and while Bach sounds good on just about any instrument, it can sound particularly beautiful played by saxophones (and organ, of course). For more recorded classical genre saxophone listen to:

Ravel- Bolero
Mussorgsky/Ravel- Pictures At An Exibition
Milhaud- Creation Of The World
Glazunov- Concerto
Prokofiev- Romeo And Juliet
Prokofiev- Lt. Kije
Gershwin- An American In Paris
Rachmaninov- Symphonic Dances

Brandford Marsalis also recorded an album of classical works for saxophone "Creation" which includes the Milhaud and is highly recommended.
I'll try to add some lesser known ones to the list here.

A stunning recording with terrific baritone sax (along with flute and cowbell, lol) playing by Sahib Shihab (formerly know as Eddie Gregory): Sahib Shihab & The Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra by Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra