When I first got into jazz, I didn't really like any sax players; I dug piano and trumpet and drums. More recently though, I really get/ dig Trane and older guys like Cannonball Adderly Ben Webster And occasionally, Sonny Rollins.
Nubya Garcia, she's part of the blossoming London scene right now. She's the real deal, no doubt about it. I had the incredible experience of seeing her play live last summer in Chicago and its was phenomenal.
Charlie Parker and John Coltrane were geniuses at improvisation and I love hearing the brilliant ideas they came up with on the spot and incredible technique, but they didn't experiment much with tone, timbre, different types of sounds, etc. - their playground was notes and rhythm. John Gilmour may not be quite in the same league, but he was close.
Albert Ayler, on the other hand, didn't limit himself to just notes and rhythms - he really explored all of the different sounds you can make.
Have you listened to much Eric Marienthal? I don't think anyone would put him in the same league as absolute legends like Bird or Trane, but he's an extremely talented player and I love how he effortlessly makes use of the full range of the instrument including high altissimo, and a variety of growls, honks, and other sounds - without going too far "out there" - he's still pretty straight-ahead and accessible with his solos. His solo on Sister Sadie here (starting at about 1:25) is a great example of his style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RUHCt3jzyo