Coleman Hawkins: Body and Soul

Historian Ted Gioia calls this "the most celebrated saxophone solo in the history of jazz" and "a landmark, breakthrough performance" that's been "studied by generations of musicians and is loved by countless jazz fans." Of course, not every listener will care to analyze pedagogically a musician's chordal navigation. Moreover, what Gioia describes as Hawkins's "ponderous tone" and "baroque arpeggios" assembled in "rigidly logical" construction may strike today's ears as mechanistic and old-fashioned. Even so, "Body and Soul" deserves its due. No trailblazer in tenor sax balladry cut a wider swath than Coleman Hawkins.