Few musicians have managed to change the course of music--trumpeter Miles Davis did it several times. An early disciple of Charlie Parker, Davis created an austere, understated approach that became the model for cool. His superb albums in the 1950s m…

Wynton Marsalis is credited with almost singlehandedly ushering in the powerful neo-traditionalist jazz movement of the 1980s and '90s. Along with father Ellis and brothers Branford, Delfeayo and Jason, Wynton is a member a New Orleans musical dynast…

b. 1 February 1969, Berkeley, California, USA. The latest in a long line of intensively marketed young jazz musicians, Joshua Redman saw his star rise dramatically in 1991, when he burst suddenly into the international arena in his (very) early 20s w…

Through both the force of his music and his personal character, saxophonist John Coltrane remains among the most influential jazz artists of all time. After a stint with the classic Miles Davis band of the late 1950s, the tenor titan embarked on a de…

In the '90s Kenny Garrett became the most sought-after alto saxophonist in jazz for his exceptional strength as a soloist and his seemingly boundless creativity. In his early career he served in one of Mile Davis's last bands. He has recorded a strin…

Charlie Parker's combination of sheer genius and pure emotion on the soprano sax has few rivals, and after him, nothing would be the same. As one of the creators of bebop in the 1940s and 1950s (alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and others), Par…

Tenor saxophonist Stan Getz possessed a full, luxuriant tone and a highly melodic improvisational sense. Though he produced consistently rewarding music for the duration of his near 50-year career, he achieved the greatest success in the early '60s w…

Tenor man Wayne Shorter was one of the foremost figures in jazz saxophone in the latter half of the 20th century. A hugely influential figure, he combined classical-influenced lyricism, bop fire, post-bop viscerality, and free-jazz adventurism. Over …

"Saxophone colossus" is not a bad description for a tenor player who is one of the greatest living jazz artists. Sonny Rollins made his first record date at the age of 19 in the late 1940s, and unlike Parker and Coltrane, the magnitude of his talent …

Duke Ellington's gift for combining blues simplicity, gospel emotion, and sophisticated musical themes reflected a unique style that drew fans from around the world. From the 1920s to the 1970s, he created a huge body of work that ranks among the gre…

Dave Brubeck is one of the great post-bop jazz innovators of the 1950s, whose use of irregular time signatures, a restrained, classical-influenced approach to the piano, and exceptional composing skills have allowed him to make bold musical statement…

In the mid-'90s, pianist Brad Mehldau made a major splash in the New York jazz scene. An improvisor possessed of creativity and originality in equal measure, he introduced a classical impressionist influence into modern jazz. Working primarily in a t…

Cannonball Adderley's blues-soaked tone and swinging delivery on alto sax stood out immediately when he arrived in New York in 1955. He joined the Miles Davis Quintet a few years later and appeared on the seminal KIND OF BLUE album. While many were s…

One of the most original and influential pianists in jazz, Bill Evans possessed an intensely personal and lyrical approach. The release of his first records under his own name, as well as his appearance on Miles Davis's KIND OF BLUE, pushed Evans rap…

Pianist and composer Horace Silver was, along with Art Blakey, one of the primary instigators of the hard-bop jazz movement of the 1950s. Silver turned a limited piano technique to his advantage, welding simple but memorable phrases to driving, muscu…

A remarkable tenor player and improviser for the last three decades, Joe Henderson's career began in the '60s on Blue Note. He played a prominent role in seminal records by the diverse likes of Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill,…

b. Nicholas Anthony Payton, 26 September 1973, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Born into a musical family, Payton took up the trumpet at the age of four. Encouraged by his pianist-singer mother and his bass-playing father, he swiftly reached a level of …

b. 21 May 1972, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. McBride began taking bass lessons at the age of 11, and at 17 attended the Juilliard School of Music where he studied and played the classical repertoire. Soon after his arrival there, however, he bega…

One of the most open-eared and forward-thinking jazz musicians of his day, Hancock has, more than just about anyone else, consistently tried to broaden the music's horizons by mixing it with the most interesting elements of contemporary pop. Hancock …

Thelonious Monk, underappreciated at the beginning of his career in the 1940s, was eventually recognized as one of the most brilliant figures in modern jazz, with a piano and compositional style that began in a classic stride and then veered off, glo…