Well here they are on the same stage.
You choose, or beg to differ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-2uBeMgV4I

RAB, thanks for another great clip. Do you see why I said that about Coltrane in our email loop?

Even in this duet, when they played their solos, there is something dark about Coltrane. But it is a hard and shiny darkness, not the more familiar smoky sort of dark bluesy jazz. Okay, maybe I'm Rorshacking it, but in that duet, Stan Getz was much more colorful and optimistic. Coltrane to me always sounds like there is some brittle anguish in it somewhere.

Compare especially their short closing solos in this link. See it?

Oh yes Mid. Coltrane was very dark, especially towards the end. He had religion big time see.
But the bad guys always win, if you know what I mean.
Getz was sweet sassy and acceptable.
Coltrane was blowing his mind.
The media screams for insane.
But our souls wimper urbane!

I've always thought of Coltrane as being the most technically proficient saxophonist in jazz history. Even on the recording RAB linked to, Getz's solo is nice, but Coltrane's is mind-blowing. His melody swaggers and seethes, sometimes following the beat, sometimes seeming to forget there is one, until Coltrane snatches it back from the pit of cacophony. And of course, you haven't heard Coltrane play until you've heard him play Giant Steps(Link).

Anyway, I don't really know that much about sax, so I could very well be wrong about the magnitude of Coltrane's abilities, but at any rate his playing sounds more impressive than Getz's.

OK, call me an old fart, but I'm inclined to say, "a pox on both your houses." Am I really the only one who's willing to put Lester Young ahead of any of the young(er) Turks?