Miles Davis (May 26, 1926 — September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter with a recording career that spanned nearly five decades. In the late 1940s, Davis collaborated with Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan on the nonet sessions that became the Birth of the Cool LP (1957). He later formed his first great quintet […]
John Coltrane (September 23, 1926 — July 17, 1967) was an American post-bop/jazz saxophonist and composer who released more than fifty studio and live albums between 1957 and his death in 1967 at age 40. Coltrane first recorded under his own name in 1957 after apprenticeships with Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, and Miles Davis. That […]
McCoy Tyner (1938–2020) was an American jazz pianist, active for six decades. He earned his earliest credits on 1960 albums by Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Farmer’s Jazztet. During his four-year stint with John Coltrane (1961–65), he cut six titles for Impulse! In 1967, he made his Blue Note debut with The Real McCoy. […]
Thelonious Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his improvisational style. His compositions “‘Round Midnight” and “Straight, No Chaser,” became jazz standards. Monk’s musical approach was a blend of percussive attack, dissonant chords, and sudden silences. His improvisations featured flat ninths, whole tone runs, and […]
Sonny Rollins (born Sept. 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist whose seven-decade career spans bebop, hard bop, and post-bop, marking him as one of the music’s most influential improvisers and composers. Rollins began recording as a sideman in 1949 with pianist Bud Powell and singer Babs Gonzales. Between 1951 and 1953 he appeared […]
Eric Dolphy (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist from Los Angeles. He gained national attention in 1958 as a member of Chico Hamilton’s quintet. Dolphy launched his career as a leader in 1960 with Outward Bound on Prestige Records, the first of thirteen albums he recorded for […]
Cannonball Adderley (September 15, 1928 – August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era whose playing combined blues phrasing with bebop agility. After early performances with his brother Nat Adderley in Florida, he led an Army dance band and moved to New York. He launched his bandleader career with […]
Did the early back-to-back deaths of Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown open a power vacuum in jazz that allowed Miles, Coltrane, and Monk to emerges as the top three? Would Bird have been the dominant force, joined at the top by Brown, or would they have slid from prominence like Dizzy? This is a great […]
