The 16 Greatest Jazz Musicians of All Time

[@mangiatito]

Maybe Charles Mingus instead of Chet Baker. Chet was a great soloist, but Mingus was also a great composer, he changed the forms. A true milestone.

[@rongibbs390]

As a saxophonist, I would definitely include Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Wayne Shorter and Michael Brecker in my list. Massively influential musicians, and composer in Shorter’s case.

[@Erschophone]

Wayne found his place on the list with both Art Blakey and Miles Davis: groups where he played a preponderant role...although I still miss him being on the list.

[@jddorland]

Fun take. Ready for the part 2-16 More Greats. Really could become a whole series of itself. Thanks

[@DeanNesbitt-k6y]

Great list!!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Glad you think so!

[@dividedwords]

Very nice. Perhaps also: Wayne Shorter and Charles Mingus (both for their contributions to jazz composition). And Lester Young. ... Buddy Bolden? (Impossible, however, to credit him concretely.) Jelly Roll Morton?

[@kp6880]

If you want to learn to play bop listen fo Bud Powell.

[@nalunoa]

Fantastic and fun video! I have favorites I believe could or should have been included, but a solid list, no doubt. For greatness coupled with huge influence of new directions, I might make special mention of Jerry Mulligan for his use of ensembles without chordal instruments leading to a weaving sound that I'm given to understand was innovative and Sun Ra because, well, Sun Ra, especially when his early work, which seems to get a lot less attention, is taken into account. Well done, sir. Really enjoyed it.

[@matth6932]

Thanks for mentioning Chetty!

[@kritzoventer6611]

Charlie Mingus - monumental contribution. Also Dave Brubeck. Glad Mary Lou Williams got a mention, I kind of discovered her by accident and love the spirituality she brought to the style. How about some contemporary artists? Where is the next frontier in Jazz? Would be interested in expansion on this, thanks for a thought provoking video!😊

[@djmileski]

Great list. Only person I would absolutely add is Joe Henderson

[@TheVosseler]

Très sympa votre vidéo. Merci 😘

[@lifelemonswhenlifegivesule9209]

Very useful information! I'm new to jazz and this list helps a lot. Thank you!

[@Learnjazzstandards]

Glad it was helpful!

[@selpingos]

I would add the great Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, Clifford Brown. Clifford Brown in his short life gave us so much in the area of jazz improv. and finally Wynton Marsalis.

[@FridaSemon]

true milestone

[@davidfarlinger4088]

I agree with a lot of the people you chose for the greatest jazz musicians of all time. I think Louis Armstrong's greatest contributions to jazz are his hot 5 and hot 7 recordings from the 1920's, his ability to build an improvised solo with an overall structure (a big influence on Miles) and that Louis invented scatting. Duke Ellington is considered important for his music starting from 1928. He was a very significant figure of traditional jazz i.e. before the swing era as well as during the swing era which really started for black musicians in 1935 and later for white musicians. Ellington's popularity got a big boost after the musicians' union strike when the United States had entered World War II. His and other black orchestras were promoted as part of the United States campaign for "The War Against Racism". I think he is one of the top jazz composers. Perhaps Charlie Parker was the greatest jazz composer. I would also put Ornette, Thelonious and Wayne Shorter as top jazz composers. Although Ella Fitzgerald was an incredible singer, I don't hear bebop phrasing, rhythms or melodic contours in her scatting. I would probably put Sarah Vaughan as a much more important figure to the music and try to ignore Ella's popularity. I'm glad to see Bill Evans on your list. He was excellent at fitting in with every context including playing for all black groups like Miles' and Oliver Nelson. Check out how he tries to comp for Eric Dolphy's wild solo on "Yearnin'". Evans seemed often to venture into a profound cerebral/emotional landscape like in his studio recording of Ellington's "Reflections in D", "Peace Piece", "Flamenco Sketches" and "Some Other Time"(with Tony Bennett) , all of which start with the bass notes of the piano playing V I. I also think Keith Jarrett and Wayne Shorter should be on this list. I remember about 30 years ago reading top ten lists of Greatest Jazz musicians of all time that had a heavy bias in favour of traditional Jazz, Sweet Swing, Cool Jazz and a heavy bias against black musicians. For example one list had all white musicians except for Duke Ellington. These lists included Paul Whiteman, Guy Lombardo, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Stephan Grappelli (a better version of Joe Venuti), Django Rheinhardt (a better version of Eddie Lang), Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey etc.

[@noethirion2168]

Thanks for the video that filled some gaps for me ! Very much focused on the old greats and I would have added some more "recent" contributions with Pat Metheny, Pharoah Sanders, John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, to be more guitar oriented !

[@ishadawaher-bakhos1048]

would love to watch one for guitar only

[@zxcvbnm-w9r]

would definitely have included hargrove. JJ was an extreme turning point for jazz trombonists specifically, being able to adapt to bebop, but i understand how he wouldnt be considered for broader theory based innovations

[@SamyakSingh-j7p]

Can’t make a list without Wayne and Herbie on it

[@pialaubenthal8734]

Listen to Clora Bryant. An incredible trumpet player!!!

[@DeanNesbitt-k6y]

The great Art Tatum

[@rillloudmother]

virtue-ah-SICK... where did that stick come from?

[@juhatarkka9867]

Django Reinhardt deserves to be mentioned among the greats, I think

[@feodorovich18stravinsky60]

Naaa

[@TomTabaczynski]

There is an interesting problem these days: jazz seems to be so generic. That is, you learn jazz with these backing tracks, but it's not that interesting. Classical musician either learn to play solo (eg., John Williams on guitar, or a solo cello) or in an ensemble. I think the issue of solo vs. ensemble needs to be addressed and that is something to think about. Because if I'm playing to these backing tracks, that means I will need people to play with in a live situation, of a backing track, or a looper (God forbid).

[@MichaelCrutcher]

I don't understand why a looper is considered a forbidden activity.

[@TomTabaczynski]

I think that's an interesting question, and I might actually write a book, or a chapter of a book, about it. But I've never seen any musician who used a looper who was worth anything.@@MichaelCrutcher

[@cxcccccc-f6y]

seems like a correlation not causation issue? it's not like loopers are replacing folks from playing together.

[@TomTabaczynski]

You can play together, but basically if you're a guitar player, and you need a band, means you don't cut it as a solo player. Might be different with other instruments. But it's the guitar players that use loopers. Seems like a crutch to me.@@cxcccccc-f6y

[@jeanlucchapelon]

You omit Art Tatum,Michael Brecker,Chick Corea,Herbie Hancock,Bobby Mc Ferrin,Charlie Mingus,Antonio Carlos Jobim !!!!! It’s impossible to check 16 influential musicians,it’s too short !!

[@vladledesma3765]

When it comes to jazz singer "ELLA

[@walterconrad2987]

Well, as Charlie Parker brought a whole new and unique era in jazz, so did Django Reinhardt.

[@cxcccccc-f6y]

Let's not equate reinhardt with charlie parker. I love Gypsy Jazz but it didn't monumentally change jazz as bebop did. As miles david said, jazz can be described in 4 words "Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker."

[@walterconrad2987]

As one may notice, I did not equate, since European jazz is a quite different beast..

[@JohnA000]

Was not familiar with Mary Lou Williams. Quite familiar with all the others. Might have included Roy Hargrove, Grant Green and Charlie Christian in the list. It's a rather small list when you consider the number of greats out there.

[@StavrosMusic]

Stan Getz?

[@billrobbins883]

In no position/not qualified to dispute any of your picks, so instead how about you expand the number to include Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young,, Art Tatum & Benny Goodman (or explain why you think any of them don’t belong)?

[@brianklock3921]

i was looking for someone to mention Art Tatum. Art Tatum needs to be on a list like this. So innovative and ahead of his time.

[@Indigo-lucky]

So Ella Fitzgerald didn’t even place (besides the video cover image placement)? Her vocal improv far exceeds any others with unparalleled versatility and complexity, agility, creativity, control over chromatics and huge interval leaps, rhythmic ingenuity. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jonahsmith7434]

Nat King Cole

[@cxcccccc-f6y]

I feel like Chet Baker is a questionable choice when you have options like Mingus, Reinhardt, and even Stan Getz (who I am not fond of but he was also a cool jazz guy, but more importantly helped bring bossa into american jazz scene and american pop music).

[@dhannysvallejocevallos6059]

I think Jasper Hoiby is a great jazz musician and he does a great job with the double bass.

[@andreasvalkare559]

Ella Fitzgeerrald, Gene Krupa, Tigran Hamasyan, Oscar Peterson

[@TomTabaczynski]

@toltecstrings1 I guess you deleted your sarcastic comment after you realised that this is a jazz channel, and the guitarists you mention are not jazz musicians. I'm sure you think they're great. Problem is, not jazz.

[@yotrakzproductions7324]

Nah…just rename the vid “Top 17”