[J.Max]

To Drakesaxprofs list, I'd add:

Eugene Rousseau (duh)
Steven Mauk
Lawrence Gwozdz (or however you spell it)
Michael Hester (you'll need to direct order his CDs)
Kenneth Tse


There are so many great players out there, it's tough to pick just a few...It would be easier to write about who NOT to listen to :twisted:

 

[J.Max]

Definitely listen to Michael Hester. Having studied with Rousseau, Sinta, Londiex, and others, he has a beautiful modern sound influenced by many of our warhorses. I'm not sure what you mean by "direct order" J.Max, but they can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Patc...895845?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1184303006&sr=8-11

or

http://cdbaby.com/cd/michaelhester

Best,
Wallace

I just meant that his CDs aren't found in a lot of stores. He has a RIDICULOUS pedigree, having studied with Larry Teal (in high school!), Eugene Rousseau, Don Sinta, Elizabeth Ervin, and Jean-Marie Londeix...not that it would mean anything if he couldn't play. He's possibly the best player that I've ever heard live, and I've heard quite a few. There's just something about his sound that just seems to hit you and envelop your ears...it's pretty incredible.

 

[J.Max]

There's an old Detroit Symphony album called "French Favorites." It's got all of the warhorses, but on Bolero, a very young Don Sinta (I believe this was in the mid-60's) is playing tenor. I'll back Nitrosax up on this one. He sounds absolutely beautiful (of course, it is Sinta).

There's a really good old Detroit Symphony recording of "Pictures" with Larry Teal playing the Old Castle. I'm pretty sure that it's one of only a handful of recordings that he did. Absolutely fantastic.

 

[J.Max]

I would say for the Rascher school, look for John-Edward Kelly, who I would say is the most extreme in the tonal concept of Rascher.

As for french, the old-school french sound, you could probably check out Jean-Yves Formeau. As for neo-french, Christian Wirth, Claude Delangle, and Vincent David would be good references.

As far as John-Edward Kelly goes, am I alone in not liking his sound? He is a fantastic technical player, with great musicianship, but his tone is almost hollow sounding...for Rascher players, I like Lawrence Gwozdz, Houlik (although he's a tenor player so it's a bit hard to compare him to the others) and the late David Bilger.

For French players, you can take your pick...Delangle, Sugawa, and even Rousseau and Hemke