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- Charlie Parker. Famously called Yardbird or Bird, Charlie Parker was an American jazz saxophonist who significantly contributed to the genre’s growth in the music scene.
- Dizzy Gillespie. Born in 1917 in South Carolina, Dizzy Gillespie, whose real name was John, was a jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the 1940s. Most people knew him for his big cheeks, which puffed out as he played the trumpet.
- Miles Davis. Illinois native Miles Davis was arguably one of the most influential jazz musicians and could play the trumpet with a unique style. Born in 1926, Davis left home and moved to New York to attend Juilliard.
- Ella Fitzgerald. Called First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald was acclaimed for her vocal strength and distinctive voice, which sounded like an instrument when doing scat improvisations.
- Georgia May
- Whiplash (2014) Directed by Damien Chazelle. Starring Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist. Drama, Music, Thriller (1h 46m) 8.5 on IMDb — 94% on RT.
- La La Land (2016) Directed by Damien Chazelle. Starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt. Comedy, Drama, Music (2h 8m) 8.0 on IMDb — 91% on RT. When Seb Wilder (played by Ryan Gosling) tells Mia (played by Emma Stone) about his love for jazz, she immediately laughs at him.
- Soul (2020) Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. Starring Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton. Animation, Adventure, Comedy (1h 40m) 8.0 on IMDb — 95% on RT.
- Mo' Better Blues (1990) Directed by Spike Lee. Starring Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes. Drama, Music, Romance (2h 10m) 6.7 on IMDb — 71% on RT.
- Louis Armstrong
- Charlie Parker
- Miles Davis
- John Coltrane
- Duke Ellington
- Wynton Marsalis
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Dave Brubeck
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Thelonious Monk
Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo, was born in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz music, in 1901. Raised by his grandmother in a poor neighborhood, he grew up in poverty. Armstrong was a talented vocalist and trumpet player who helped popularize jazz in America. He got his first trumpet — technically a cornet — at age seven and learned from Joe O...
Charlie Parker, nicknamed Bird and Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist who created bebop. Known for his clean tone and impeccable technique on the alto saxophone, Parker played the intricate harmonies and fast solos of bebop. Born in Kansas City in 1920, he started playing saxophone around age 11. After touring with various bands, he moved t...
Miles Davis is an iconic figure in the history of jazz, and he is one of those names that people know even when unfamiliar with jazz music. Born in Illinois in 1926, Davis moved to New York City to study at Juilliard but left in 1944 to join Charlie Parker’s group. Four years later, he left to write his music and record solo albums like Birth of th...
John Coltrane, like Miles Davis, helped establish modal harmonies in jazz music. He led many recording sessions that are now classic in the jazz recording literature. The most famous composition by Coltrane would have to be “Giant Steps,” a remarkable song of complex harmony. Aside from “Giant Steps,” he is also well known for his album A Love Supr...
Duke Ellington, born Edward Ellington in Washington D.C. in 1899, was a renowned jazz composer and pianist and was an equally gifted bandleader. In terms of jazz, Ellington’s home was New York City, where he connected with many of the top jazz musicians of the time. By the 1930s, he was famous for leading big bands and jazz orchestras. In his over ...
In the trumpet world, Wynton Marsalisis a famous name. He is most well-known for his jazz music, although he has also put out high-level classical albums. Three of Marsalis’s 1980s albums — Think of One, Hot House Flowers, and Black Codes (From the Underground)— won him each Best Jazz Instrumental Solo Grammys. He also received more Grammys for his...
The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, was a legendary female jazz singer whom people also deservedly call the Queen of Jazz. Her singing was so unique and smooth that she often sounded like an instrument when doing scat improvisations. Fitzgerald toured with an orchestra for many years before starting her solo career in 1942. She was well known ...
Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck was another one of those musicians who became known for pushing the boundaries of jazz by using uncommon rhythms and harmony. He was both a composer and a jazz piano player who became famous for hits such as “In Your Own Sweet Way,” “Take Five,” and “Unsquare Dance.” Brubeck led his group, the Dave Brubeck Quartet. The gro...
Dizzy Gillespie, whose legal first name was John, was a famous American trumpet player who made influential contributions to the development of jazz music as a genre. Born in 1917 in South Carolina, Gillespie is probably most well-known for his iconic look of big cheeks puffing out as he played his trumpet. Besides trumpet playing, Gillespie was al...
North Carolinian Thelonious Monkwas a composer and jazz pianist famous for his unique piano style with dissonant harmonies and surprising melodies. Before this though, as a teenager, he worked as a church organist before diving into jazz in the 1940s at Manhattan clubs. Monk recorded nearly as much music as Duke Ellington, but he was also notable f...
In the early 1940s in jazz, bebop emerged, led by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and others. It helped to shift jazz from danceable popular music towards a more challenging "musician's music." Differing greatly from swing, early bebop divorced itself from dance music, establishing itself more as an art form but lessening its ...
- Jacob Uitti
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- Senior Writer
- Billie Holiday. Born April 7, 1915, Holiday signed her first record contract in 1935. She was one of the most skilled vocalists of the 20th century but, sadly, she fell under legal and drug problems.
- Ella Fitzgerald. Born on April 25, 1917, Ella Fitzgerald collaborated with the likes of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. From 1935 to 1942, Fitzgerald reared over 150 songs with the orchestra founded by Chick Webb.
- Charlie Parker. In 1939, Charlie Parker, born August 29, 1920, moved to New York City. That’s when the spark of new music and a new life began for Parker and the world of jazz.
- Nat King Cole. March 17, 1919, Nat King Cole recorded a number of popular songs in the 1940s that were considered pop hits (though, today, they are far from Ariana Grande and *NSYNC).
1940s - War clouds and silver linings. During the Second World War entertainment was needed to maintain morale. The danceable, virtuoso music of the Swing Era (1935–45) was provided – for both American and British ears – by famous bandleaders such as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller.
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Feb 27, 2010 · A considerable amount of musicians have been inspired by the “Duke,” including Thelonius Monk, Sonny Stitt, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Earl Hines, and Joe Pass, as Ellington has proved to be one of the most important figures in jazz and music in general. 1.
