Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

male, deceased (1974)
most influential figure in jazz, Swing pianist, Jazz composer, pianist, Big band bandleader, Bandleader…jazz royalty, Jazzbandleader, jazz, jazz pianist, Progressive big band bandleader
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was an African American jazz composer, pianist, and band leader who has been one of the most influential figu...
Count Basie

Count Basie

male, deceased (1984)
One O'Clock Jump, American jazz bandleader, American jazz organist, Swing bandleader, Swing pianist, Vaudeville performer…Big band bandleader, Jazzbandleader, jazz pianist, Jazz organist, jazz piano
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Commonly regarded as one...
Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

male, deceased (1971)
musician, African American, American, jazz, Dixieland trumpeter, Swing trumpeter…Dixieland bandleader, Swing bandleader, New Orleans jazz musician, American jazz cornetist, American jazz trumpeter
Louis Armstrong (4 August, 1901 - July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo and Pops, was an American jazz musician. Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative...
Miles Davis

Miles Davis

male, deceased (1991)
cool jazz, trumpet, bebop, Jazz fusion, Bebop musician, Trumpet player…Jazz trumpeter, Jazz trumpet player, Jazz composer, Cool jazz trumpeter, Modal jazz trumpeter
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 - September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, widely considered one of the most influential of the 20th...
Dizzy Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie

male, deceased (1993)
Bebop trumpeter, harmony, Improviser, musician, Jazz trumpeter, modern jazz…Afro-Cuban jazz trumpeter, Afro-Cuban jazz composer, Vocal jazz musician, Latin jazz composer, Afro-Cuban jazz bandleader
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21 1917 - January 6 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. He was born in...
Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman

male, deceased (1986)
swing, Lets Dance, Benny Goodman Band, Begin the Beguine, When smoke gets in Your Eyes, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra…American jazz clarinetist, Swing bandleader, Big band bandleader, jazz, Jazzbandleader
Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David Goodman, (May 30, 1909 - June 13, 1986) was an American jazz musician, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of...
Cab Calloway

Cab Calloway

male, deceased (1994)
death by stroke, American jazz bandleader, Vaudeville performer, Swing singer, convert to Anglicanism, Jive singer…Swing bandleader, Big band bandleader, jazz musician, Bandleader, jazz singer
Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907-November 18, 1994) was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat...
Sun Ra

Sun Ra

male, deceased (1993)
Progressive big band pianist, Experimental big band pianist, poet, Experimental big band bandleader, swing music, Free improvisation pianist…Progressive jazz pianist, Free jazz pianist, Mainstream jazz pianist, American jazz bandleader, free jazz
Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sony'r Ra; born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was...
Stan Kenton

Stan Kenton

male, deceased (1979)
Cool jazz musician, Progressive jazz pianist, Progressive big band bandleader, Big band bandleader, music arranger, Swing bandleader…American jazz bandleader, jazz, Jazzbandleader, jazz musician
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (pianist) led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was...
Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller

male, deceased (1944)
Big band bandleader, Swing trombonist, Tuxedo Junction, In The Mood, String of Pearls, American…jazz musician, American jazz bandleader, jazz, Swing bandleader, Bandleader
Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 - presumably December 15, 1944), was an American jazz musician and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the...