Mal Waldron　

A pianist with a brooding, rhythmic, introverted style, Mal Waldron’s playing has long been flexible enough to fit into both hard bop and freer settings. Influenced by Thelonious Monk’s use of s ..more

Lizz Wright　

Lizz Wright is a vocalist and composer who synthesizes R＆B, jazz, folk, blues, and gospel. She was born in 1980 in the Georgia town of Hahira, and her musical tastes blossomed early on. Her father ..more

Massimo Farao　

Andrew Hill　

Andrew Hill was a great and even groundbreaking composer and pianist, yet the relatively circumscribed scale of his innovations might have originally caused him to get lost in the shuffle of the ’6 ..more

Charlie Haden　

As a member of saxophonist Ornette Coleman’s early bands, bassist Charlie Haden became known as one of free jazz’s founding fathers. Haden has never settled into any of jazz’s many styl ..more

Kenny Barron　

A thorough examination of Kenny Barron’s musical accomplishments over a span of 50 years necessitates a discography of more than 200 pages. That’s because in addition to a distinguished career as s ..more

Bill Evans / Jim Hall　

Naoya Matsuoka　

Cecil Taylor　

Soon after he first emerged in the mid-’50s, pianist Cecil Taylor was the most advanced improviser in jazz; five decades later he is still the most radical. Although in his early days he used ..more

Nitai Hershkovits　

Ben Webster　

Ben Webster was considered one of the big three of swing tenors along with Coleman Hawkins (his main influence) and Lester Young. He had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with h ..more

Cecile Mclorin Salvant　

Vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant is an adept jazz singer who came to the public’s attention after winning the 2010 Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition. Born in Miami, Florida to a French mothe ..more

Kenny Drew　

A talented bop-based pianist (whose son has been one of the brightest pianists of the 1990s), Kenny Drew was somewhat underrated due to his decision to permanently move to Copenhagen in 1964. He ..more

Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand)　

The melodic sounds of South Africa are fused with the improvisation of jazz and the technical proficiency of classical music by South Africa-born pianist Dollar Brand or, as he’s called hi ..more

Ron Carter　

The epitome of class and elegance, though not stuffy, Ron Carter has been a world class bassist and cellist since the ’60s. He’s among the greatest accompanists of all time, but has also done many ..more

Miles Davis / John Coltrane　

Horace Parlan　

Horace Parlan has overcome physical disability and thrived as a pianist despite it. His right hand was partially crippled by polio in his childhood, but Parlan’s made frenetic, highly rhythmic r ..more

Ralph Towner　

One of the founders of Oregon, Ralph Towner is one of the few modern jazz musicians to specialize on acoustic guitar. His playing often stretches beyond the boundaries of conventional jazz ..more

Modern Jazz Quartet　

Pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke first came together as the rhythm section of the 1946 Dizzy Gillespie ＆ His Orchestra and they ..more

Tony Bennett　

Tony Bennett’s career has enjoyed three distinct phases, each of them very successful. In the early ’50s, he scored a series of major hits that made him one of the most popular recording artists of ..more