Miles Davis
Miles Davis is the most influential jazz musician in the twentieth century. He was on the cutting edge of several different stylistic innovations.
His clean and minimalistic legato style of playing became legendary and at the same time allowed other bandmates to play along the edges of Davis’s more melodic approaches.
Over his lengthy career of 5 decades, he created and performed everything from bebop and cool to modal jazz styles. He was preeminent in establishing modal jazz as a style.
Davis played with seemingly almost everybody and gave many great names in jazz a start within his own bands, such as John Coltrane and many others.
John Coltrane
This great saxophonist was influential to many musicians over his career, including non-sax players. He played several different styles of jazz over his legendary career.
He helped pioneer modal jazz and was on the cutting edge of free jazz creating highly experimental creative spaces.
He had a great ability to improvise earning accolades as a master of improvisation.
In his later career he used jazz voicings in a spiritual context.
Antonio Carlos Jobim
He was the Brazilian superstar largely credited as being one of the main proponents to create the bossa nova style.
Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” is one of the most recorded songs of all time. Many of his songs remain in the standard jazz repertoire.
His music-writing legacy will ensure his songs and the bossa style remain well loved.
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington was a pianist, composer and bandleader.
He became most famous as the bandleader of his orchestra from their many appearances at the famous “Cotton Club” in Harlem.
He attracted many of the best players to his orchestra with many staying for decades.
Duke Ellington wrote over 1000 songs of which many became standards. He also performed songs written by musicians in his orchestra, such as Juan Tizol (Caravan).
He also wrote many songs with Billy Strayhorn with whom he collaborated for about thirty years (Take the A Train).
He is the most recorded jazz artist of all time.