What is the most generic-sounding sax soli in a big band tune?

As far as sounding “generic”, each of the soli from the thousands of big band songs I know make an attempt to be different. But if I had to pick one, the opening to Count Basie's song “Basie” from the album Basie At Birdland has to take the cake. read more

But if I had to pick one, the opening to Count Basie’s song “Basie” from the album Basie At Birdland has to take the cake. He was the most famous user of saxophone soli, and due to having so many individual songs there are a few that were bound to be less than perfect. read more

Depending on the arrangements and band, the 1st tenor can have the majority of the solos. While not intending to tell someone how to solo, I will mention one point. Part of section-playing (and big band playing in general) is adjusting your playing to match the situation in which you find yourself. read more

I wrote a sax soli for my arranging class last semester. The assignment was to write a lead bebop-style melody line over 16 bars of standard chord changes, then harmonize every note in four parts, then provide parts for five saxophones and rhythm section for the big band to record. read more