Artist Index How to use Artist INDEX

Gene Ammons　

Gene Ammons, who had a huge and immediately recognizable tone on tenor, was a very flexible player who could play bebop with the best (always battling his friend Sonny Stitt to a tie) yet was ..more

Gene Harris　

One of the most accessible of all jazz pianists, Gene Harris’ soulful style (influenced by Oscar Peterson and containing the blues-iness of a Junior Mance) was immediately likable and p ..more

George Shearing　

For a long stretch of time in the 1950s and early ’60s, George Shearing had one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet -- so much so that, in the usual jazz tradition of distrusting popular ..more

George Wallington　

George Wallington was one of the first and best bop pianists, ranking up there with Al Haig, just below Bud Powell. He was also the composer of two bop standards that caught on for a ..more

Gerry Mulligan　

The most famous and probably greatest jazz baritonist of all time, Gerry Mulligan was a giant. A flexible soloist who was always ready to jam with anyone from Dixielanders to the most advanced b ..more

Giovanni Guidi　

Giovanni Mirabassi　

Jackie Mclean　

Jackie McLean has long had his own sound, played slightly sharp and with great intensity; he is recognizable within two notes. McLean was one of the few bop-oriented players of the early ’50s ..more

Jacques Loussier　

Pianist/composer Jacques Loussier demonstrated musical ability at an early age, starting to play at the age of ten and entering the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris at 16. Loussier’s m ..more

Jim Hall　

A harmonically advanced cool-toned and subtle guitarist, Jim Hall has been an inspiration to many guitarists, including some (such as Bill Frisell) who sound nothing like him. Hall attende ..more

Jim Rotondi　

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi is a solid post-bop musician with a warm tone and an improvisational approach deeply steeped in the tradition of great jazz trumpeters. While the Butte, Montana native began p ..more

Jimmy Giuffre　

Jimmy Giuffre has had many accomplishments in a long career that has never been predictable. Giuffre graduated from North Texas State Teachers College in 1942, played in an Army band during his ..more

Jimmy Mcgriff　

One of the all-time giants of the Hammond B-3, Jimmy McGriff sometimes gets lost amid all the great soul-jazz organists from his hometown of Philadelphia. He was almost certainly the bluesiest o ..more

Jimmy Smith　

Jimmy Smith wasn’t the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did; Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and ..more

J.J.Johnson　

Considered by many to be the finest jazz trombonist of all time, J.J. Johnson somehow transferred the innovations of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to his more awkward instrument, play ..more

Joe Henderson　

Joe Henderson is proof that jazz can sell without watering down the music; it just takes creative marketing. Although his sound and style were virtually unchanged from the mid-’60s, Joe Hender ..more

Joe Lovano　

Active during a period of jazz history when it seemed radical innovation was a thing of the past, Joe Lovano nevertheless coalesced various stylistic elements from disparate eras into a personal an ..more

Joe Pass　

Joe Pass did the near-impossible. He was able to play up-tempo versions of bop tunes such as Cherokee and How High the Moon unaccompanied on the guitar. Unlike Stanley Jordan, Pas ..more

Joey Calderazzo　

A potentially significant pianist playing in the modern mainstream, Joey Calderazzo’s career got off to a strong start with a series of fine Blue Note albums. He studied classical piano from ..more

John Coltrane　

Despite a relatively brief career (he first came to notice as a sideman at age 29 in 1955, formally launched a solo career at 33 in 1960, and was dead at 40 in 1967), saxophonist John Coltrane was ..more