I have been playing a ton of saxophone solo transcriptions lately. I decided to work on some Charlie Parker solos from the Be-Bop bible, the Omnibook, on my tenor sax that I already played on the alto sax. There is a problem here. The Bb Omnibook has to go to quite a bit of left-handed pinky work in order to keep the integrity of the original key signature alive. Now, I don’t profess myself to be the first-call reed person in Denver, Colorado, but I have been in the shed a bit. And  there is no way I can move my pinky on the low end keys at 200+ beats per minute. I am advising my students, and the world, to look to the experts of your chosen instrument! While it is important to cop some great Parker riffs for the tenor (he even played tenor once or twice!) get the tenor feel with these guys: Coltrane, Dexter Gordan, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt… I think that any be-bop phrasing needs on the tenor can be met by studying Sonny Stitt alone! You will find plenty of Charlie Parker inside of Sonny Stitt’s playing. Yes, I am a big fan.

Here are two great websites to find transcriptions, both for Bb and Eb:

This guy is an incredible player and an incredible transcriber!
Charles McNeal

More solos-

Sax Solos.com

Some great Parker licks, in all keys!

Tim Price

And here are some Bb (tenor or soprano saxophone) books to get:
John Coltrane Solos (Saxophone / Tenor Saxophone) - Artist Transcriptions

Get Lester Young here:

The Lester Young Collection: Tenor Saxophone

Here is a great place to find Fred Hess, a former instructor of mine. His transcriptions of Pres and Hawk are definitive.
Fred Hess

At the risk of cheesing out, I love Grover Washington Jr. He was smooth when there was no smooth. Its a guilty secret!

Best of Grover Washington, Jr.: Note-for-Note Saxophone Transcriptions

Having said that, I also think that Sonny Stitt doesn’t get enough props for his genius. His solos and phrasing just make sense.

The Sonny Stitt Collection: Tenor Saxophone Artist Transcriptions

Improvised Tenor Saxophone Solos

Add Stan Getz to your list. I like to try and play the transcriptions along with the artist. Emulate the sound and phrasing when possible.

Stan Getz - Bb Tenor Saxophone

I know there are many other books, many other transcriptions. As always, when working on solos (AS WITH ANYTHING) set the metronome to a slow tempo and work your way up. There is no better way to infuse your saxophone playing with the jazz vocabulary than to get the feel from the masters. Remember: if playing the saxophone was easy, everyone would be doing it! Peace.

Jason Justice