Grant Green　

A severely underrated player during his lifetime, Grant Green is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar. He combined an extensive foundation in R＆B with a mastery of bebop and simplicity tha ..more

Hank Mobley　

One of the Blue Note label’s definitive hard bop artists, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley remains somewhat underappreciated for his straightforward, swinging style. Any characterization of Mo ..more

Kamasi Washington　

Kamasi Washington didn’t pick up a saxophone until he was 13 years old, but by that point, he’d already been playing several other instruments. That’s when he found his calling. Within a couple yea ..more

Roland Kirk　

Arguably the most exciting saxophone soloist in jazz history, Kirk was a post-modernist before that term even existed. Kirk played the continuum of jazz tradition as an instrument unto its ..more

Art Blakey / Jazz Messengers　

Herb Alpert　

One of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history, trumpeter Herb Alpert was also one of the entertainment industry’s shrewdest businessmen： A＆M, the label he co-founded with par ..more

Pino Palladino / Blake Mills　

Dexter Gordon　

Dexter Gordon had such a colorful and eventful life (with three separate comebacks) that his story would make a great Hollywood movie. The top tenor saxophonist to emerge during the bop era and ..more

Nicki Parrott　

Celebrated as an instrumentalist and a vocalist, Australian artist Nicki Parrott has earned acclaim as one of the most engaging talents to emerge on the jazz scene in the 21st century. Born in Newc ..more

Allan Holdsworth　

Guitarist Allan Holdsworth was widely considered one of the finest instrumentalists in all of jazz fusion, yet never truly received the recognition that he so rightfully deserved. Born on August 6, ..more

Stan Getz　

One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Stan Getz was known as The Sound because he had one of the most beautiful tones ever heard. Getz, whose main early influence was Lester Young, ..more

Kenny Burrell　

One of the leading exponents of straight-ahead jazz guitar, Kenny Burrell is a highly influential artist whose understated and melodic style, grounded in bebop and blues, made him in an in-demand s ..more

Frank Sinatra　

Frank Sinatra was arguably the most important popular music figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. In a professio ..more

Mine Kosuke　

Sonny Clark　

Like Fats Navarro and Charlie Parker before him, Sonny Clark’s life was short but it burned with musical intensity. Influenced deeply by Bud Powell, Clark nonetheless developed an intri ..more

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

Wes Montgomery　

Wes Montgomery was one of the great jazz guitarists, a natural extension of Charlie Christian, whose appealing use of octaves became influential and his trademark. He achieved great commercia ..more

Dave Brubeck　

In the 1950s and ’60s, few American jazz artists were as influential, and fewer still were as popular, as Dave Brubeck. At a time when the cooler sounds of West Coast jazz began to dominate the pub ..more

Fourplay　

This all-star group -- comprised of keyboardist Bob James, guitarist Lee Ritenour, bassist Nathan East, and drummer Harvey Mason -- was formed in 1991 after the quartet came together on pa ..more

Ella Fitzgerald　

The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald was arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time (although some may vote for Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday). Blessed with a beautiful voic ..more