When asked who his favorite famous saxophone players were, Darryl “Soul Sax” Murrill without hesitation reeled off the following greats of this woodwind phenomenon:

Kirk Whalum, Marcus Anderson, Gerald Albright, Mike Phillips, Walter Beasley, and Everette Harp.

Kirk Whalum 

Kirk is the man with the darker and silky vibes from his horn that sets him apart from any other artist, whether on saxophone or not! A famous solo that Whalum is acclaimed for is from Houston’s “I Will Always Love Love You”.  Murrill could be heard listening to repeatedly and playing as a ringtone songs from Kirk Whalum’s “Gospel According to Jazz Chapter I”.  What Darryl “Soul Sax” Murrill appreciates the most about Kirk Whalum is his soulfulness!  

Marcus Anderson

Marcus Anderson may be fairly young, but his repertoire speaks volumes for his earned respect as a saxophone extraordinaire.  He is one of the hardest working artists in show business as his brand exceeds music with his entrepreneurial leg of And Coffe. He has his own coffee and brick and mortar shop!  Anderson even had musical projects with the late artist Prince.  His sax ability has opened doors for him to entertain before many well known individuals such as former president Barack Obama.  While many people were scratching their heads during the Covid-19 pandemic, Anderson was still holding concerts for all to enjoy in the comfort of their homes!  Darryl “Soul Sax” Murrill appreciates Anderson’s Gospel influence, soulfulness, and creative out-of-the-box ideas.

 Gerald Albright

Gerald Albright is hailed as a shining sax star among the hundreds of thousands of artists existing today. He is known for touring with Phil Collins, for playing the bass guitar professionally, and for his many Grammy nominated pieces or albums, such as “Pushing the Envelope”. Gerald was also known for working with Anita Baker, Patrice Rushen, Atlantic Starr, Teena Marie, Ray Parker, Jr. and many more.  Darryl loves that Gerald Albright gives him the best of smooth jazz, yet with such a straight-ahead jazzy influence as he plays the saxophone.  

Mike Phillips

Mike Phillips broke the misnomer that Hip Hop and Jazz could not gel in this the 21st century.  Murrill states, “Mike Phillips has show stopping skill, over all kinds of music relative to smooth jazz.” Mike Phillips recorded a song influenced by Craig Mack’s Flava In Your Ear. Phillips may not be the youngest saxophonist, but he is one of the hippest whether he is in the vein of Hip Hop or not! He is likely to be seen in Jordan’s and in a baseball cap, but wielding a mighty sound of nice nasty!

Walter Beasley

 Darryl “Soul Sax” Murrill gave ear to Walter Beasley’s video recordings especially during the Covid-19 pandemic as Beasley encouraged artists in handling their affairs while the world was at a standstill seemingly in the entertainment world! Such wisdom is no surprise from Beasley who has won various awards and is a known professor at Berklee College of Music. Soul Sax Murrill credited Beasley as having great content with a smooth sound.

Everette Harp

The last famous saxophone player that Murrill absolutely adores is Everette Harp! Darryl indicates that Harp is one who he just loves everything about his sound and playing! Harp, like “Soul Sax”, is the son of a preacher. Both have roots in Gospel. Everette is known for his duo with former president Bill Clinton. He also toured with Anita Baker and was protégé to George Duke.

Saxophone players can be considered a dime a dozen as there are countless around the world. Darryl “Soul Sax” Murrill, as a smooth jazz saxophonist caters towards saxophonist who play along similarly.  

Sound off below in the comments section as to who your top picks are for being famous saxophone players!