You may love John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, or Michael Brecker, but they are out of the league for most people just starting to transcribe. One of the biggest stumbling blocks that I’ve encountered with students I’ve taught and met over the years is that they often don’t know where to start with transcribing. These books can be great for improving your reading and extracting some basic vocabulary, but tempting as they are to purchase in lieu of doing your own transcriptions, they will never be as effective as actually transcribing a solo yourself. Perhaps the most famous saxophone transcription books is the Charlie Parker Omnibook, which is where many of us were told to start on our jazz quest.

As I’m sure you know, there are loads of books of transcribed solos on the market.