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Bob Graf

Bob Graf (April 16, 1927 – August 27, 1981) was a St. Louis tenor saxophonist whose career placed him alongside some of the most celebrated names in jazz. Recommended to Count Basie by trumpeter Clark Terry, Graf performed in Basie's small group before joining Woody Herman's Third Herd, recording for both Capitol and MGM. He was a member of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars, appeared on Chet Baker's Pacific Jazz recordings in 1956, and played with Gerry Mulligan's big band in the 1960s.

His most significant recorded document is At Westminster (Delmark Records), captured live in St. Louis on January 11, 1958 — reissued on CD in 1992 as part of Delmark's Underground Heroes series and still available today. In December 1959 he performed alongside guitarist Grant Green and organist Sam Lazar at the Holy Barbarian in St. Louis. In 1958 he appeared as a performing musician on the Universal Pictures film The Big Beat.

A soft-toned lyricist in the tradition of Lester Young with a hard bop edge, Graf spent five decades keeping jazz alive in St. Louis. He died on August 27, 1981 at 54.

Bob Graf: A St. Louis Tenor Voice the World Almost Missed

by Melodi Graf McCraine
April 14, 2026

There is a particular kind of musician who never quite makes it into the history books despite spending a career in the company of greatness. Bob Graf was that kind of musician--a jny: St. Louis tenor saxophonist who played alongside Count Basie, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Grant Green, and Gerry Mulligan, recorded albums that still sell today, and spent five decades keeping jazz alive in the city that shaped him. He died in 1981 at 54. His story deserves to ...