News & Updates — reeds

Gerry Mulligan may be the most well-known (and perhaps most important) baritone saxophonist in jazz and beyond. His playing, arranging and compositional talents have found him work with many of the greatest jazz artists ever, as well as extensive work in orchestral settings. He started arranging for Gene Krupa in '46 before playing on the classic Miles Davis Nonet sides that became Birth Of The Cool and subsequent jobs with the group ('48-'51). 1951 saw the issue of his first album Mulligan Plays Mulligan before heading to Los Angeles to take a job with Stan Kenton. It was there that...

The great tenor saxophonist Ben Webster was one of the best and most influential of the old-school swing saxophonists, whether jumping or sweet. Coming out of Kansas City, he got some early pro experience with Budd Johnson (Lester Young was in the band), Benny Moten, Fletcher Henderson, Andy Kirk, Benny Carter and Cab Calloway before earning a chair in the Duke Ellington band starting around '35. Webster credits one of his bandmates with the Duke, Johnny Hodges, as being a major influence on him. After a fight with Duke, he was given his walking papers in '43, and formed his...

Jose "Chombo" Silva was a veteran Cuban musician who hit the NYC scene in the '60s, playing charangas and descargas. Versatile as both a saxophonist and violinist, he played with Johnny Pacheco's charanga, Ray Barretto, the Alegre All Stars, Kako, Mongo Santamaría, Peruchín, Charlie Palmieri, Chocolate Armenteros, Típica Ideal, Africando, Nestor Torres' La Sensual and the Panamanian group Los Exagerados, with whom he contributed the blasting descarga "Panama Esta Bueno Y... Ma". He learned violin at an early age, playing in church groups. In the late '30s he was playing with pianist Peruchín. In '48 he started the Swing Boys...

Tenor player Fred Anderson may have been an underknown saxophonist but there is no denying his amazing, flowing playing and his commitment to nurturing the local scene in Chicago. In fact, it was desire to stay home and run the Velvet Lounge that kept him from a larger international profile. Born in Louisiana, he came to Chicago in the '40s and worked doing carpet installation before opening nightclubs. In the '60's he was a founding member of the AACM and played on a couple of fantastic Joseph Jarman albums. Indeed, those fine albums are where I first heard him, especially...

If you've heard Ethiopian music, the chances are that you've heard the bold tenor saxophone vibrato of Gétatchèw Mèkurya. Ever-present on the recordings of the '60s and '70s, much of which was found on the amazing Ethiopiques series, his career found a larger international audience in his later days with his work with the Dutch anarcho-punk band The Ex, Boston-based creative fusion ensemble Either/Orchestra, the group of Fendika, Indian singer Susheela Raman and others, and his music was sampled by K'Naan and Damian Marley. The native of Yifat, Ethiopia began his studies on the traditional instruments the krar and masenqo...