Lee Ritenour / Dave Grusin　

John Zorn　

The one word virtually everyone can agree on in any discussion of the work of composer John Zorn is prolific in the strictest sense of the definition. Though he didn’t begin making records until ..more

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

Keith Jarrett / Gary Peacock / Jack Dejohnette　

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

Brian Bromberg　

A very versatile acoustic and electric bassist capable of playing straight-ahead jazz, funk, and fusion, Brian Bromberg is also one of the few bassists to master the tapping technique made ..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

Larry Carlton　

Best known for his signature Gibson 335 guitar and his supreme technique, Larry Carlton sees no drawing a line between genres. He draws on his varied musical roots including jazz, rock, country, and n ..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

Anthony Williams　

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

Kimiko Kasai　

Itabashi Fumio　

Steve Kuhn　

Steve Kuhn has had an interesting career. A talented jazz pianist, he has worked in many types of settings through the years. He began classical piano lessons when he was five, studied with { ..more

Maria Schneider　

Maria Schneider is widely thought of as a potentially great arranger who is following in the footsteps of Gil Evans (her main inspiration), George Russell, and Bob Brookmeyer. After extens ..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

Yamashita Yosuke　

Yamashita studied piano as a child and has played professionally since the age of 17. He attended Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo from 1962-1967 and played for a time with saxophonist Sadao W ..more

THE JAZZ AVENGERS　

Viktoria Tolstoy　

Kenny Wheeler　

Jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler was one of the most advanced voices on his instrument. Blessed with a full, lovely tone and an astounding range, Wheeler sounded equally at home in ..more