Big names in Jazz?

Charlie Parker
Art Blakey
John Coltrane
Lucky Thompson
Cannonball Adderley
Gil Evans
Dizzy Gillespie
Thelonius Monk
Oscar Pettiford
Art Tatum
Sonny Rollins
Wayne Shorter
Tony Williams
Bix Beiderbecke
Coleman Hawkins
Clifford Brown
Duke Ellington
Count Basie
Dave Brubeck
Jim Hall
Wes Montgomery
Charlie Christian


That should be a start...

 

BW-
Impressive list, BUT...
Where's Louis Armstrong?

Every1-
If you're a Jazz newbie, I recommend Mark Gridley's book, Jazz Styles...very easy reading, he goes through Jazz' various periods & the players who made those movements special.

 

Well, I wanted to leave some for others to add, but since you inisist on some kind of completeness...

Ornette Coleman
McCoy Tyner
Horace Silver
Max Roach
Donald Byrd
Paul Chambers
Nat King Cole
Tadd Dameron
Eric Dolphy
Henny Dorham
Sonny Stitt
Bill Evans
Red Garland
Claude Thornhill
Stan Getz
Erroll Garner
Dexter Gordon
Joe Henderson
Freddie Hubbard
Bobby Hutcherson
Cedar Walton
Benny Golson
Wynton Kelly
(The omission of Wynton Marsalis is NOT accidental)
Rashaan Roland Kirk
Yusef Lateef
Ahmad Jamal
Mulgrew Miller
Cal Tjader
Fats Navarro
Woody Shaw
Oliver Nelson
Chick Corea
Joe Zawinul
Charlie Haden
Pat Metheny

 

...thanks; BTW, is that supposed to be Kenny Dorham?

Which leads me to one into mentioning one of my favorite discs-
Point Of Departure by Andrew Hill

The personnel reads like a "Who's Who" of Modern Jazz:
Andrew Hill-piano
Richard Davis-bass
Tony Williams-drums
Eric Dolphy-alto sax
Joe Henderson-tenor sax
Kenny Dorham-trumpet

...how's that for a 6-tet?!

 

Chuck Mangione

Not exactly a jazz in its basic sense, more balladly usually. But yea, Chuck Mangione.

 

One of my favorites is Joe Oliver, or King Oliver, as he came to be known. He was Louis' instructor so many years. Only a few tunes by him I have been able to find recorded unfortunately. That was in 1912 I think when he died. (Did a report on him last year, can't remember any thing else.)

 

I have to admit I'm pitifully ignorant when it comes to jazz. I've listened to a lot of the "popular jazz" like the Crusaders, Bob James, Rippingtons, Jarreau etc. but am very uneducated to the genre as a whole, particularly with regards to the traditional strains of jazz.

Having said that, I am in awe of Coltrane -- he's the only jazz great I can instantly identify by sound and style.

Also, my wife bought me a CD for my birthday: Louis Armstrong and His All Stars, "Paris Jazz Concert" recorded live in 1962. I love it! The bassist's name is Billy Cronk -- very simple, clean bass lines that I admire greatly. Another thing I like about this recording is that it's a small slice of another era with a lot of character that clearly comes through to the listener. Great CD!