Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27 1909-September 20 1973) was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. He had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with his own distinctive growls), yet on ballads he would play with warmth and sentiment. Stylistically he was heavily indebted to Hawkins, particularly for his low, …

Clark Terry (born December 14, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri), nicknamed Mumbles, is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, and NEA Jazz Master.

Billy Taylor was born in Greenville, North Carolina on July 24, 1921. Dr. Taylor, one of jazz's most influential African-American pianists, composers, and educators, is currently the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Taylor graduated from Virginia State College with a B.S. in Music in 1942, and has been playing piano professionally since 1944, …

William Alonzo Anderson, known as Cat Anderson (12 September 1916-29 April 1981) was an American jazz trumpeter best-known for his long period playing with Duke Ellington's orchestra, and for his extremely wide range (more than five octaves), especially his playing in the higher registers. Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Anderson lost both parents when he was four years old, and was sent to live at the Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston, …

John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (25 July, 1907-11 May, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist and lead player of Duke Ellington's saxophone section, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He spent 38 years with Ellington, leaving to lead his own band from 1951 to 1955. Hodges started playing with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Lucky Roberts and Chick Webb. When Ellington wanted to expand his band in 1928, Ellington's clarinet player Barney Bigard recommended Hodges, …

Oscar Pettiford (Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 30 September, 1922 - Copenhagen, Denmark, 8 September, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop. Pettiford's mother was Choctaw and his father was half Cherokee and half African American. Like many African Americans with Native American ancestry, his Native heritage was not generally known except to a few close friends (which included David Amram).

William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting two decades. The composition most closely associated with Strayhorn is "Lush Life".

Mercer K. Ellington (11 March 1919-8 February 1996) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. Ellington was born in Washington, DC, the son of famous composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington. The young Ellington was taught by his father rather than studying music formally, and by the age of eighteen had written his first piece to be recorded by his father ("Pigeons and Peppers"). In 1939, 1946-1949, and 1959 he led his own bands, …

Tyree Glenn (Evans Tyree Glenn) (April 11, 1912, Corsicana, Texas - May 18, 1974, Englewood, New Jersey) was an american trombone player. Tyree played trombone and vibraphone with local Texas bands before moving in the early 1930s to Washington, D.C., where he performed with several prominent bands of the Swing Era. He played with Bob Young (1930), then he joined Tommy Myles's band (1934-1936). After he left Myles, he moved to the West Coast, …

Rex Stewart (22 February 1907-7 September 1967) was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra. After stints with Elmer Snowden, Fletcher Henderson, Horace Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and Luis Russell, Stewart joined the Ellington band in 1934. Ellington arranged many of his pieces to showcase Stewart's half-valve effects, muted sound, and forceful style.

Sonny Greer (13 December 1895-23 March 1982) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Duke Ellington. Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. before joining Ellington, who he met in 1919. He was Ellington's first drummer, playing with his quintet, the Washingtonians, and moving with Ellington into the Cotton Club.

William McLeish Smith (25 November, 1910 in Charleston, South Carolina-7 March, 1967 in Los Angeles) was one of the major alto saxophone players of the swing era. He also played clarinet and sang. He is generally referred to as "Willie Smith". Willie Smith's first instrument was clarinet and his education was in chemistry. He received his chemistry degree from Fisk University. Nevertheless in 1929 he became an alto saxophonist for Jimmie Lunceford's band.

Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (February 1, 1904 - July 20, 1946) was a famous trombonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Nanton was born in New York City and began playing professionally with bands led by Cliff Jackson and Elmer Snowden. In 1926, he joined Ellington. He was a pioneer in using the plunger mute with the trombone and, along with Bubber Miley, helped create the Wah-wah sound.

Charles Melvin ("Cootie") Williams (July 24,1910 - September 15, 1985) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. He rose to prominence as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra, with which he performed from 1929 to 1940. He also recorded his own sessions during this time, both freelance and with other Ellington sidemen. In 1940 he joined Benny Goodman's orchestra, then in 1941 formed his own orchestra, in which over the years he employed Charlie Parker, …

Harold "Shorty" Baker (born May 26, 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri; died November 8, 1966 in New York City) was a jazz trumpeter. He started on drums, but switched to trumpet in his teens. He began on riverboats and played with Don Redman in the mid-1930s. He also worked with Teddy Wilson and Andy Kirk before his more noted association with Duke Ellington. He would marry Kirk's pianist Mary Lou Williams. His worked on and off in Duke Ellington's Orchestra from 1942 to 1962.

Jimmy Blanton (October 5 1918-July 30 1942) was an influential American jazz double bassist. Blanton originated melodically conceived pizzicato bass solos. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Blanton originally learned to play the violin, but took up the bass while at Tennessee State University, performing with the Tennessee State Collegians from 1936 to 1937, and during the vacations with Fate Marable.

Jimmy Hamilton (25 May 1917 - 20 September 1994) was an American jazz clarinettist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington. Hamilton was born in Dillon, South Carolina, and grew up in Philadelphia. Having originally learnt to play piano and brass instruments, in the 1930s he started playing the latter in local bands, before switching to clarinet and saxophone.

Harry Howell Carney (1910 - 1974) was a swing baritone saxophonist, and bass clarinetist best known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's band. Carney started off in Ellington's band playing alto, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often serves as the anchor of Duke's music. He also played bass clarinet on occasion.

Wellman Braud (January 25, 1891 - October 29, 1966) was a United States jazz string bass player. He is a Creole. His family sometimes spelled their last name "Breaux", pronounced "Bro". Born in St. James Parish, Louisiana, Braud came to New Orleans in his early teens. He was playing violin and string bass and leading a trio in venues in the Storyville District before 1910. He moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1917. In 1923 he went to London with the Plantation Orchestra, …

Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni (born 6 July 1924), better known by the stage name Louie Bellson, is an American jazz drummer. He is considered to be one of the few drummers whose technical proficiency is in the league of Buddy Rich. He is a composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator, and is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums.

Juan Tizol (31 December 1900 - 23 April 1984) was a Puerto Rican trombonist and composer. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and moved to the mainland United States in 1920. He worked with Duke Ellington from 1929 to 1944 and it was during this period that he composed Caravan and "Perdido". After that he worked with the Harry James orchestra in California which allowed him to see his wife more often. In 1957 he was a guest on The Nat King Cole Show.

Lawrence Brown (1907-September 5, 1988) was a jazz trombonist from Kansas. He began his career with Charlie Echols and Paul Howard. In 1932 he joined Duke Ellington. His great technical command of the instrument, with its "creamy tone, neurotic vibrato and range" was featured with Ellington's band every year in compositions such as "Blue Cellophane" and "Golden Cress." Brown left Ellington's band in 1951 to join a band led by former Ellington sideman Johnny Hodges, …

Russell Procope (11 August 1908-21 January 1981), an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists.

Otto Hardwick (May 31 1904 - August 5 1970) was a saxophone player. He got his start with Duke Ellington in 1919.

Louis Metcalf (February 28, 1905 - October 27, 1981) was a jazz cornetist and trumpeter. He played for a short time with Duke Ellington for which he is best remembered. Metcalf was born in Webster Groves, Missouri. As a youth he first trained on the drums but switched over to cornet permanently. As a teenager in St. Louis, Missouri he played with Charlie Creath. Metcalf moved to New York City in 1923 and participated in the fertile jazz scene there, …

Albany Leon Bigard (March 3, 1906 - June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet. Barney Bigard was born in New Orleans and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. He moved to Chicago in the early 1920s, where he worked with "King" Joe Oliver and others. During this period, much of his recording with Oliver and others including clarinetist Johnny Dodds was on tenor saxophone, …

Ray Willis Nance (December 10, 1913 Chicago - January 28 1976 in New York City) was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. Nance, who played cornet rather than trumpet, is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington through most of the 1940s and '50's, after he was hired to replace Cootie Williams. Shortly after joining the band, Nance was given the trumpet solo on the first recorded version of "Take The A Train," which became the Ellington theme, …

Paul Gonsalves (July 12, 1920, Brockton, Massachusetts - May 15, 1974, London, England), an American jazz tenor saxophonist of Cape Verdean (mixed Portuguese-black African) blood, was considered one of the best and most tasteful players on his instrument. But no review of his musicianship is ever left untouched by the performance that made his name in the first place---the near-riot he caused at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with an arresting, 27-chorus solo, …

Britt Woodman (born June 4, 1920 in Los Angeles; died October 13, 2000 in Hawthorne, California) was a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his work with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. He knew Mingus from childhood, but first worked with Phil Moore and Les Hite. After service in World War II he played with Boyd Raeburn before joining with Lionel Hampton in 1946. In the 1950s he would work with Ellington.

Harold Ashby (born March 21, 1925 in Kansas City) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He is perhaps known for his work with Duke Ellington's band and stylistic similarities with Ben Webster.

James Wesley "Bubber" Miley (April 3, 1903-May 20, 1932) was an early jazz trumpeter and cornet player, specializing in the use of the plunger mute.

Jimmy Robert Forrest Jr. (January 24 1920 - August 26 1980) was a jazz musician who played tenor saxophone throughout his career. He is famous for his first solo recording of "Night Train," with its irresistible hook and classic tenor solo. He recorded frequently as both a side man and a leader. "Night Train" reached # 1 on the R&B charts in March 1952, and stayed at the top for seven weeks. "Hey Mrs Jones (# 3 R&B) and "Bolo Blues" were his other major hits.