Probs Getz for me. I always liked his bossa nova stuff, his tone was completely unique and velvety soft, and he could phrase a melody I think in my mind better than Coltrane. Coltrane was more athletic though.
Coltrane was better and more important and impactful but Getz was a beautiful player in the Lester Young mode... but where the other top white sax players of the "Cool" mode (say like Zoot Sims, Paul Desmond, Lee Konitz, etc) settled on an uneasy and sometimes self-conscious half Lester/half Bird imitation, Getz found his own unique voice and style; strongly influenced by Young but not overwhelmed by him I'm a Sonny Rollins guy... his technical skills were formidable, his tone was a perfect midway between Hawkins and Young... he was a profoundly lyrical soloist and there was a humor in his playing, a sarcasm that could be ditched as needed... if Ellington and Strayhorn perfected bittersweet nostalgia in compositional form, Rollins may very well have perfected it in improvisation ... Coltrane crept a little too close at times to mathematics for me Bird I place in a different category as he was an Alto man... without him though you wouldn't have Coltrane or Sonny
That may be so but for me, the tone Getz pulls off is something else and his melodic turn is so natural and unforced. I played sax for 6 years and could never replicate his tone without sounding like a douchebag. I basically just enjoy listening to his sax more than Coltrane's.
I can totally dig that ... Coltrane runs hot and cold for me as a matter of taste... Getz I always enjoy hearing
