One of the finest big-band baritone saxophonists of the 1940s and '50s is someone with whom you may be unfamiliar: Leslie Johnakins. As trumpeter Doc Cheatham said in a 1976 quote that kicks off the chapter on Johnakins in David Griffiths' book, Hot Jazz: From Harlem to Storyville: "Leslie Johnakins has always been the greatest baritone around, but he w…
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