Music Tech Teacher, Jazz Musicians and Jazz Reference Page

Information About Jazz Musicians and Composers

This is a short list of musicians (alphabetical) and some of their compositions or recordings.


Picture	Musician Info
	Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong / 1901-1971 Hot Five and Hot Seven Bands West End Blues, Potato Head Blues Cornet Chop Suey, Weather Bird Heebie Jeebies, Struttin' With Some Barbecue What a Wonderful World Born in New Orleans Nickname - Satchmo Scat - a vocal style using wordless syllables
	William 'Count' Basie / 1904-1984 One O'Clock Jump Jumpin' at the Woodside Good Morning Blues Swingin' the Blues
	Sidney Bechet / 1897-1959 Sweetie Dear, Blues in the Air Summertime, Shag, Petite Fleur Recordings - Blue Horizon, What Is This Thing Called Love
	Leon 'Bix' Beiderbecke / 1903-1931 Singing the Blues, I'm Coming Virginia At the Jazz Band Ball, Davenport Blues Bix Beiderbecke Story, In a Mist
	Dave Brubeck / 1920-2012 Blue Rondo a la Turk, In Your Own Sweet Way Take Five, Unsquare Dance His band was known for their use of odd meters in music, such as in Take Five.
	Ray Charles / 1930-2004 Hit the Road Jack Georgia On My Mind
	John Coltrane / 1926-1967 Giant Steps Countdown Impressions
	Miles Davis / 1926-1991 So What, All Blues Freddie the Freeloader, Four Milestones Famous for trumpet playing ability.
	Jimmy Dorsey / 1904-1957 Famous Band Leader, The Complete Standard Transcriptions - Tangerine, In a Little Spanish Town Green Eyes, Out of Nowhere, Beebe Praying the Blues
	Tommy Dorsey / 1905-1956 Famous Band Leader, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Stop Look and Listen I'm Getting Sentimental Over You, and many others featuring Frank Sinatra and other singers.
	Edward 'Duke' Ellington / 1899-1974 Nickname - 'Duke' Theme Song - Take The 'A' Train Sophisticated Lady, In A Sentimental Mood It Don't Mean a Thing, I Got it Bad Satin Doll, Prelude to a Kiss, Mood Indigo
	Ella Fitzgerald / 1918-1996 Known as the "First Lady of Song" One of greatest female jazz vocalists of 20th Century A-Tisket A-Tasket
	Dizzy Gillespie / 1917-1993 One of the fathers of the bebop jazz style. Known for his playing his tilted bell trumpet with puffed cheeks. A Night in Tunisia, Con Alma, Groovin' High, Manteca
	Benny Goodman / 1909-1986 Known to many as 'The King of Swing' Great at Jazz and Classical Music Compositions - Stompin' at the Savoy, Airmail Special, Flying Home Recordings - Sing,Sing,Sing Mission to Moscow, I Found A New Baby Body and Soul, Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert
	Lionel Hampton / 1908-2002 Recordings - Hamp's Blues, Sound of Jazz, Lionel Hampton, Lionel Hampton and the Golden Men of Jazz, Flying Home, Mingus Fingers
	W. C. Handy / 1873-1958 Beale Street Blues (1917), Joe Turner Blues (1915) St. Louis Blues (1914), Yellow Dog Blues (1914) Memphis Blues (1912)
	Coleman Hawkins / 1904-1969 Body and Soul, Picasso The Man I Love - Hawkins Quartet, First Impressions and recordings with other musicians
	Fletcher Henderson / 1897-1952 Gulf Coast Blues Recordings - The Stampede, Wrappin' Up
	Billie Holiday / 1915-1959 The movie 'Lady Sings the Blues' was a portrayal of Billie's life. God Bless the Child
	James P. Johnson / 1891-1955 Father of Stride Piano Carolina Shout, Charleston, Running Wild, Harlem Strut Recordings - What Is This Thing Called Love, Snowy Morning Blues
	Scott Joplin / ca. 1868-1917 The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag The Ragtime Dance, Treemonisha
	Gene Krupa / 1909-1973 Recordings - Rockin' Chair, Gene Krupa - Boogie, Ballads and BeBop, and recordings with other musicians
	Thelonius Monk / 1917-1982 Blue Monk, Round Midnight
	Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton / 1890-1941 Piano pieces - Jelly Blues, King Porter Stomp, Red Hot Peppers The Pearls, Sidewalk Blues, Mr. Joe
	Edward 'Kid' Ory / 1886-1973 Recordings - Ory's Creole Trombone Society Blues
	Charlie 'Bird' Parker / 1920-1955 Famous for his alto saxophone playing ability. One of the fathers of the 'bebop' jazz style. Recordings - Now's the Time, Ko-Ko, Yardbird Suite A Night in Tunisia, Parker's Mood, Embraceable You Lady, Be Good Compositions - Confirmation, Now's the Time Donna Lee
	Ben Pollack / 1903-1971 Ben Pollack and his Californians Ben Pollack and His Orchestras Swing Out, In A Sentimental Mood
	Bessie Smith / 1895-1937 Empress of the Blues, Downhearted Blues Taint Nobodys Business Recordings - St. Louis Blues, Lost Your Head Blues
	Thomas 'Fats' Waller / 1904-1943 Ain't Misbehavin', Birmingham Blues Honeysuckle Rose, Muscle Shoals Blues Fractious Fingering, I Ain't Got Nobody
	Ethel Waters / 1896-1977 Recordings - Cocktail Hour, Am I Blue? Jazzin' Babies, Blues, Georgia On My Mind

More Jazz Facts:
* Chart - in music is the arrangement of the music.
* Improvise - is a solo in jazz music or ... to make up the music as it is being played.
* Riff - is a repeated musical idea.

Resources for Jazz Musicians:
Jazz for Young People (Lincoln Center)
Meet the Great Jazz Legends - by Ronald C. McCurdy - Alfred Publishing 2004 / 2009

Jazz Education Network
Syncopatedtimes.com/about-the-rhj-archive/

Some of the pictures of early jazz musicians were found on various history sites, including the (former) Red Hot Jazz web site, a site about the history of jazz before 1930. Recording info and dates found in various jazz history books, including John Fordham's Jazz - History, Instruments, Musicians, Recordings, (1993) and Frank Tirro's Jazz - A History, 2nd Ed. Files are for educational examples only.

Information About Jazz Musicians and Composers This is a short list of musicians (alphabetical) and some of their compositions or recordings.

Picture

Musician Info

Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong / 1901-1971

Hot Five and Hot Seven Bands West End Blues, Potato Head Blues Cornet Chop Suey, Weather Bird Heebie Jeebies, Struttin' With Some Barbecue What a Wonderful World

Born in New Orleans Nickname - Satchmo Scat - a vocal style using wordless syllables

William 'Count' Basie / 1904-1984

One O'Clock Jump Jumpin' at the Woodside Good Morning Blues Swingin' the Blues

Sidney Bechet / 1897-1959

Sweetie Dear, Blues in the Air Summertime, Shag, Petite Fleur Recordings - Blue Horizon, What Is This Thing Called Love

Leon 'Bix' Beiderbecke / 1903-1931

Singing the Blues, I'm Coming Virginia At the Jazz Band Ball, Davenport Blues Bix Beiderbecke Story, In a Mist

Dave Brubeck / 1920-2012

Blue Rondo a la Turk, In Your Own Sweet Way Take Five, Unsquare Dance His band was known for their use of odd meters in music, such as in Take Five.

Ray Charles / 1930-2004

Hit the Road Jack Georgia On My Mind

John Coltrane / 1926-1967

Giant Steps Countdown Impressions

Miles Davis / 1926-1991

So What, All Blues Freddie the Freeloader, Four Milestones

Famous for trumpet playing ability.

Jimmy Dorsey / 1904-1957

Famous Band Leader, The Complete Standard Transcriptions - Tangerine, In a Little Spanish Town Green Eyes, Out of Nowhere, Beebe Praying the Blues

Tommy Dorsey / 1905-1956

Famous Band Leader, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Stop Look and Listen I'm Getting Sentimental Over You, and many others featuring Frank Sinatra and other singers.

Edward 'Duke' Ellington / 1899-1974

Nickname - 'Duke' Theme Song - Take The 'A' Train Sophisticated Lady, In A Sentimental Mood It Don't Mean a Thing, I Got it Bad Satin Doll, Prelude to a Kiss, Mood Indigo

Ella Fitzgerald / 1918-1996

Known as the "First Lady of Song" One of greatest female jazz vocalists of 20th Century

A-Tisket A-Tasket

Dizzy Gillespie / 1917-1993

One of the fathers of the bebop jazz style. Known for his playing his tilted bell trumpet with puffed cheeks.

A Night in Tunisia, Con Alma, Groovin' High, Manteca

Benny Goodman / 1909-1986

Known to many as 'The King of Swing' Great at Jazz and Classical Music

Compositions - Stompin' at the Savoy, Airmail Special, Flying Home

Recordings - Sing,Sing,Sing Mission to Moscow, I Found A New Baby Body and Soul, Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert

Lionel Hampton / 1908-2002

Recordings - Hamp's Blues, Sound of Jazz, Lionel Hampton, Lionel Hampton and the Golden Men of Jazz, Flying Home, Mingus Fingers

W. C. Handy / 1873-1958

Beale Street Blues (1917), Joe Turner Blues (1915) St. Louis Blues (1914), Yellow Dog Blues (1914) Memphis Blues (1912)

Coleman Hawkins / 1904-1969

Body and Soul, Picasso The Man I Love - Hawkins Quartet, First Impressions and recordings with other musicians

Fletcher Henderson / 1897-1952

Gulf Coast Blues Recordings - The Stampede, Wrappin' Up

Billie Holiday / 1915-1959

The movie 'Lady Sings the Blues' was a portrayal of Billie's life.

God Bless the Child

James P. Johnson / 1891-1955

Father of Stride Piano

Carolina Shout, Charleston, Running Wild, Harlem Strut

Recordings - What Is This Thing Called Love, Snowy Morning Blues

Scott Joplin / ca. 1868-1917

The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag The Ragtime Dance, Treemonisha

Gene Krupa / 1909-1973

Recordings - Rockin' Chair, Gene Krupa - Boogie, Ballads and BeBop, and recordings with other musicians

Thelonius Monk / 1917-1982

Blue Monk, Round Midnight

Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton / 1890-1941

Piano pieces - Jelly Blues, King Porter Stomp, Red Hot Peppers The Pearls, Sidewalk Blues, Mr. Joe

Edward 'Kid' Ory / 1886-1973

Recordings - Ory's Creole Trombone Society Blues

Charlie 'Bird' Parker / 1920-1955

Famous for his alto saxophone playing ability. One of the fathers of the 'bebop' jazz style.

Recordings - Now's the Time, Ko-Ko, Yardbird Suite A Night in Tunisia, Parker's Mood, Embraceable You Lady, Be Good Compositions - Confirmation, Now's the Time Donna Lee

Ben Pollack / 1903-1971

Ben Pollack and his Californians Ben Pollack and His Orchestras Swing Out, In A Sentimental Mood

Bessie Smith / 1895-1937

Empress of the Blues, Downhearted Blues Taint Nobodys Business Recordings - St. Louis Blues, Lost Your Head Blues

Thomas 'Fats' Waller / 1904-1943

Ain't Misbehavin', Birmingham Blues Honeysuckle Rose, Muscle Shoals Blues Fractious Fingering, I Ain't Got Nobody

Ethel Waters / 1896-1977

Recordings - Cocktail Hour, Am I Blue? Jazzin' Babies, Blues, Georgia On My Mind

More Jazz Facts: * Chart - in music is the arrangement of the music. * Improvise - is a solo in jazz music or ... to make up the music as it is being played. * Riff - is a repeated musical idea.

Resources for Jazz Musicians: Jazz for Young People (Lincoln Center) Meet the Great Jazz Legends - by Ronald C. McCurdy - Alfred Publishing 2004 / 2009

Information About Jazz Musicians and Composers

This is a short list of musicians (alphabetical) and some of their compositions or recordings.

Hot Five and Hot Seven Bands

West End Blues, Potato Head Blues
Cornet Chop Suey, Weather Bird
Heebie Jeebies, Struttin' With Some Barbecue
What a Wonderful World

Born in New Orleans
Nickname - Satchmo
Scat - a vocal style using wordless syllables

One O'Clock Jump
Jumpin' at the Woodside
Good Morning Blues
Swingin' the Blues

Sweetie Dear, Blues in the Air
Summertime, Shag, Petite Fleur

Recordings - Blue Horizon, What Is This Thing Called Love

Singing the Blues, I'm Coming Virginia
At the Jazz Band Ball, Davenport Blues
Bix Beiderbecke Story, In a Mist

Blue Rondo a la Turk, In Your Own Sweet Way
Take Five, Unsquare Dance

His band was known for their use of odd meters in music, such as in Take Five.

Hit the Road Jack
Georgia On My Mind

Giant Steps
Countdown
Impressions

So What, All Blues
Freddie the Freeloader, Four
Milestones

Famous Band Leader, The Complete Standard

Transcriptions - Tangerine, In a Little Spanish Town
Green Eyes, Out of Nowhere, Beebe
Praying the Blues

Famous Band Leader,
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Stop Look and Listen
I'm Getting Sentimental Over You, and many others featuring Frank Sinatra and other singers.

Nickname - 'Duke'
Theme Song - Take The 'A' Train
Sophisticated Lady, In A Sentimental Mood
It Don't Mean a Thing, I Got it Bad
Satin Doll, Prelude to a Kiss, Mood Indigo

Known as the "First Lady of Song"
One of greatest female jazz vocalists of 20th Century

One of the fathers of the bebop jazz style.
Known for his playing his tilted bell trumpet with puffed cheeks.

Known to many as 'The King of Swing'
Great at Jazz and Classical Music

Compositions -
Stompin' at the Savoy, Airmail Special, Flying Home

Recordings -
Sing,Sing,Sing
Mission to Moscow, I Found A New Baby
Body and Soul, Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert

Recordings - Hamp's Blues, Sound of Jazz, Lionel Hampton, Lionel Hampton and the Golden Men of Jazz,
Flying Home, Mingus Fingers

Beale Street Blues (1917), Joe Turner Blues (1915)
St. Louis Blues (1914), Yellow Dog Blues (1914)
Memphis Blues (1912)

Body and Soul, Picasso
The Man I Love - Hawkins Quartet, First Impressions
and recordings with other musicians

Gulf Coast Blues

Recordings - The Stampede, Wrappin' Up

The movie 'Lady Sings the Blues' was a portrayal
of Billie's life.

Recordings - What Is This Thing Called Love,
Snowy Morning Blues

The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag
The Ragtime Dance, Treemonisha

Recordings - Rockin' Chair,
Gene Krupa - Boogie, Ballads and BeBop,
and recordings with other musicians

Blue Monk,
Round Midnight

Piano pieces -
Jelly Blues, King Porter Stomp, Red Hot Peppers
The Pearls, Sidewalk Blues, Mr. Joe

Recordings -
Ory's Creole Trombone
Society Blues

Famous for his alto saxophone playing ability.
One of the fathers of the 'bebop' jazz style.

Recordings - Now's the Time, Ko-Ko, Yardbird Suite
A Night in Tunisia, Parker's Mood, Embraceable You
Lady, Be Good

Compositions - Confirmation, Now's the Time
Donna Lee

Ben Pollack and his Californians
Ben Pollack and His Orchestras

Swing Out, In A Sentimental Mood

Empress of the Blues, Downhearted Blues
Taint Nobodys Business

Recordings - St. Louis Blues, Lost Your Head Blues

Ain't Misbehavin', Birmingham Blues
Honeysuckle Rose, Muscle Shoals Blues
Fractious Fingering, I Ain't Got Nobody

Recordings - Cocktail Hour, Am I Blue?
Jazzin' Babies, Blues, Georgia On My Mind

More Jazz Facts:
* Chart - in music is the arrangement of the music.
* Improvise - is a solo in jazz music or ... to make up the music as it is being played.
* Riff - is a repeated musical idea.

Resources for Jazz Musicians:
Jazz for Young People (Lincoln Center)
Meet the Great Jazz Legends - by Ronald C. McCurdy - Alfred Publishing 2004 / 2009