saxophone

Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944), Chicago, Illinois, is an American saxophonist, flautist and composer. He performed as a percussionist in high school marching bands, and served briefly in a U.S. Army band. Threadgill is notable as one of "modern" or "avant-garde" jazz's most unique composers. His dense, elaborate, multi-layered music is often strictly scored, in contrast to the loose, improvisatory feel of much jazz. Elements of traditional african music, mexican music, folk music and opera are often as prominently featured as traditional jazz and blues music.

Juhani Aaltonen, who started his musical career in the late 1950s, has been a big idol and role model for about every younger Finnish saxophone player. In the 1960s he played with the modernists of the time, ao. with Edward Vesala, Otto Donner, Heikki Sarmanto and Seppo "Baron" Paakkunainen. In 1968 he received the Georgie Award from The Finnish Jazz Federation. In early 1970s Aaltonen joined Tasavallan Presidentti (The President of the Republic), a legendary (jazz)rock group led by the guitarist Jukka Tolonen.

The founder members of The Divetones met in the dark and dank back-corridors of the Kingston University music department. They started plotting a retro-inspired instrumental frenzy, and just a short decade later, it came to be. On their journey they picked up a jazz-crazy trumpeter and a moustachioed bass player, and by the beginning of 2010 the combo was ready to enslave audiences with their sleazy groove.

Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist, poet, and playwright long known for the outspoken political tones in his work. Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 24th, 1937, but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied piano, clarinet and alto saxophone before focusing on tenor saxophone (he occasionally plays soprano saxophone). He is best known for his passionately afrocentric music of the late sixties which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by people of African descent.