Jazz Musician's Sonic Signature


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There are some jazz musicians, even if you've never heard the album or song before, you know who the musician is...even if he's playing as a sideman. For me, this is because I have lots of recordings by these guys and I've gotten used to their subtle nuances.

1. Stanley Turrentine
2. Hank Crawford
3. Kenny Barron
4. Miles Davis
5. Hubert Laws
6. Horace Silver
7. Dexter Gordon
8. Freddie Hubbard
9. Wes Montgomery

Whose playing do you instantly recognize?
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128x128mitch4t
After looking at many of the picks it occurred to me that there's very few bassists listed. It's possible but very difficult to pick out acoustic bassists. But electric is another thing altogether. I honestly have no problem picking out Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, or Jaco Pastorius!
Good response, Mitch4t. I'm sure there are people who can recognize those players at the drop of a hat, but your point is taken, some have very distinctive signatures, others don't.
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I love Lee Morgan and have listened to him for decades. However, I cannot readily identify his playing except for his tunes that I'm familiar with.

I could identify the sound of Paul Desmond and Wes Montgomery in a hurricane, Dave Brubeck, not so much.

I have Terence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton albums. I love their music, but nothing they do make them readily recognizable to me if I heard one of their unfamiliar albums.
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At this rate just about every jazz musician will be mentioned. Which goes to Drubin's entirely correct comment:

****This is true for all jazz musicians; in fact, all musicians, period. Just depends on how well you know their playing.****

Including drummers whose signature will be less tone-centric and more about their time feel which can be easily recognized if one knows their playing well enough. However, they too will have a recognizable tone due to, besides their time feel, how they tune their drums and the choice of equipment; Max Roach and Philly Jo Jones are two that come to mind.
nice thread!
Oscar Peterson, John Lewis, Keith Jarret, Chick Correa, FAts Wallers, Lennie Tristano
I'd add Stan Getz and Paul Desmond to my list. And while I cannot usually identify a drummer, if given multiple choice between two or three I think I'd be able to identify a few. For example, easy to differentiate Art Blakey vs. Roy Brooks.
Pat Metheny
Oscar Peterson
Michael Brecker
Joe Zawinul
Eberhard Weber
Bill Bruford
Eric Clapton
Alan Holdsworth
Thelonious Monk
Bill Frisell
John Scoffield
Chic Corea
I'd recognize most of the folks already listed. Have won a few free tickets on local jazz station in "name that artist" contests. Here are a few not mentioned:

Wayne Shorter
Sonny Rollins
Gene Ammons
Cannonball Adderley
Herbie Hancock
Terence Blanchard
Kenny Garrett
Charles Lloyd
Charles Earland
Jimmy Smith
Wynton Marsalis
Stan Getz
Eric Alexander

Alexander - the last fellow listed - has the distinction of being one of the younger tenors who has his "own sound" ... like Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon,et al. With the newer so-called "smooth jazz" artists (and I use the term loosely) - it's hard to tell one from the other.
Thelonious Monk
Milt Jackson
Louis Armstrong
Joe Pass
Maynard Ferguson
Count Basie
Ben Webster
I'll know in any band and in any poor sounding system for sure:
John Scoffield,
Adrean Belew,
McCoy Tyner,
Chick Corea,
Bill Frisell,
Ginger Baker,
Jaco Pastorius,
Miroslav Vitous,
Nills Petter Molvaer,
Chris Botti,
Roy Hargrove,
Dizzy Gillaspie,
Bireli Lagrene
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Drubin, I see Elvin Jones in your list. Of the many great jazz drummers throughout history, I haven't listened close enough to any drummers to identify a signature. 99.9% of all of my jazz recordings include drums, but for the life of me, I cannot identify a drummer on any of them.

I cannot say that I can instantly identify any bass players either. Drums and bass don't usually call attention to themselves, therefore, it is more difficult to distinguish unless you are really listening for it.
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This is true for all jazz musicians; in fact, all musicians, period. Just depends on how well you know their playing.

But I'll play along...

McCoy Tyner
Keith Jarrett
Brad Mehldau
John Handy
Joe Henderson
Elvin Jones
Jaco Pastorius
Pat Matheny
Most of your list, plus John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Mcoy Tyner, Red Garland, Keith Jarrett (but from his vocal distraction more so than his playing), Grant Green.