The Best Jazz Players in Music Today
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Looking for some great jazz to listen to? Check out our list of the best jazz players in music today. From Miles Davis to John Coltrane, these artists are sure to get your toes tapping.
The Best Jazz Players
Jazz is a music genre that is constantly evolving. Players who keep up with the changes and innovators are the ones who stand out the most. In this article, we will be discussing the best jazz players in music today.
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and music educator. He has been awarded nine Grammy Awards and is the only jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He is the son of jazz musician Ellis Marsalis Jr. (piano) and Dolores Ferdinand (née Washington) Marsalis (singer).
Marsalis rose to prominence in the 1980s and ’90s as part of the Young Lions Jazz Movement. He has been burning up the jazz scene since he emerged in the early 1980s as a groundbreaking trumpeter and composer. A leading figure in today’s jazz renaissance, he has won nine Grammy Awards® and became the first jazz artist to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his oratorio Bloody Sunday: A Sound portrait of The window of time surrounding Gesu Church in New Orleans on Ash Wednesday, March 7, 2006.
Miles Davis
Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical styles throughout his career. He is credited as the inventor of cool jazz, a post-bop style and genre that emerged in the early 1950s.
Chick Corea
Chick Corea is a living legend in the world of jazz. He has been playing piano and other keyboard instruments for over five decades, and his contributions to the genre are immeasurable. Corea is a master of improvisation, and his ability to create beautiful melodies on the fly is second to none. He has recorded over 90 albums as a leader, and his discography includes some of the most essential jazz recordings of all time. Chick Corea is one of the best jazz players in music today, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
The Best Jazz Bands
Jazz is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities in the early 20th century. The style of jazz has since evolved and there are now many different subgenres of jazz. Jazz bands usually consist of a group of musicians who improvise and play off of each other. If you’re looking for some of the best jazz bands out there, look no further.
The Jazz Crusaders
The Jazz Crusaders were a hard bop jazz combo active in the 1960s and 1970s. The band recorded for Pacific Jazz Records and later for MCA Records. In its early years the group was known simply as The Crusaders, before changing its name to The Jazz Crusaders as it shifted its style towards soul jazz.
The original lineup of the band consisted of Wayne Henderson (trombone), Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (saxophone), Stix Hooper (drums), and Nesbert “Stix” Hooper Jr. (percussion). The band was popular during the early 1960s, when it was based out of Los Angeles and frequently played at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach. The group’s sound was a mix of soul jazz and hard bop, with strong blues and gospel influences.
The Crusaders won a Grammy Award in 1970 for their album Make Someone Happy, and they were nominated for two more Grammys in 1971 and 1972. In 1975, Sample left the group to pursue a solo career, and he was replaced by Larry Coryell. The band continued to record and tour throughout the 1970s and 1980s with various lineups, but Henderson remained the only original member until the group’s dissolution in 1990.
The Jazz Messengers
The Jazz Messengers was a jazz band that was founded in 1955 by Art Blakey and Horace Silver. The band played a pivotal role in the development of hard bop, a style of jazz that combines elements of bebop and blues. The band’s lineup changed frequently over the years, but some of its most notable members included trumpeter Lee Morgan, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and pianist Bobby Timmons. The band’s recordings are some of the most highly regarded in jazz history, and its members were responsible for mentoring generations of young musicians.
Thelonious Monk Quartet
The Thelonious Monk Quartet was a jazz combo led by Thelonious Monk from October 11, 1963 to early 1968. The group was originally composed of Monk on piano, Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone, Ben Riley on drums, and Larry Gales on bass. Over the next few years, the lineup would change to include saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist John Ore, and others. The band became one of Monk’s most prolific groups and recorded some of his best-known works, including “Round Midnight” and “Criss-Cross”.
The Best Jazz Festivals
Every year, jazz festivals take place all over the world. Some of the best jazz festivals are the Newport Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and the North Sea Jazz Festival. These festivals showcase the talent of some of the best jazz musicians in the world.
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. The festival was founded in 1954 by George Wein, who also founded the New York City–based Newport Folk Festival. It is presented by Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc., and features exemplary jazz musicians from all over the world. According to Wein’s own account, the first Newport Jazz Festival was conceived when he booked a group of seven traditional jazz musicians led by Louis Armstrong to perform at the 1953 Newport Beach Club in Newport, Rhode Island on 7 July 1954. The performers were poorly received by the resort’s clientele; many complaints were made about them being too loud and playing “obscene” music. As a result, Wein sought to create an ensemble that combined the two approaches he enjoyed most: Dixieland jazz and modern jazz Harmony.
The 1954 festival featured Armstrong as its headliner; other performers included Bix Beiderbecke, Slam Stewart, Red Allen, Pee Wee Russell, Sidney Bechet, Dicky Wells, Eddie Condon, and Jack Teagarden. The success of the event led Wein to repeat it the following year with an expanded lineup that included Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, and Herb Ellis. Despite the expanding roster of artists (and increasing ticket prices), attendance continued to grow each year; by 1958, over 13,000 people were attending the festival.
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the world’s longest-running and most prestigious jazz festivals. It was founded in 1958 by jazz disc jockey Jimmy Lyons, and it takes place every year on the third weekend in September in Monterey, California. The festival features over 500 artists performing on eight stages over the course of three days. The lineup is always packed with top-tier talent, and past performers have included everyone from Miles Davis to Esperanza Spalding.
Detroit Jazz Festival
The Detroit Jazz Festival is one of the premier jazz festivals in the world, and takes place every year in downtown Detroit. Featuring some of the best jazz players in music today, the festival attracts over 500,000 people from all over the world.
