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Classroom

Jazz Legends Biographies

Return to Study Guides Overviews

Welcome to the Jazz Legends Biographies. These biographies and media-ographies represent a selected list of each jazz legend featured throughout the 13-episode series. While this list serves as a sampling, we hope it prompts you and your students to engage in further exploration of these great jazz icons.


Julian "Cannonball" Adderley


Laurindo Almeida


Gene Ammons


Harold Arlen


Louis Armstrong


Chet Baker


William "Count" Basie


Ray Barretto


Mario Bauza


Jorge Ben


Tony Bennett


George Benson


Irving Berlin


Willie Bobo


Luís Bonfá


Michael Brecker


Bob Brookmeyer


Clifford Brown


Sammy Cahn


Hoagy Carmichael


Benny Carter


Ray Charles


Nat "King" Cole


Ornette Coleman


John Coltrane


Chick Corea


Gal Costa


Hank Crawford


The Crusaders


Xavier Cugat


Paquito D'Rivera


Miles Davis


Wild Bill Davis


Buddy DeFranco


Paul Desmond


Wille Dixon


Eric Dolphy


Vernon Duke


Charles Earland


Billy Eckstine


Roy Eldridge


Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington


Bill Evans


Ella Fitzgerald


George Gershwin


Stan Getz


Gilberto Gil


Astrud Gilberto


João Gilberto


John "Dizzy" Gillespie


Dexter Gordon


Dave Grusin


Slide Hampton


Herbie Hancock


W.C. Handy


Johnny Hartman


Coleman Hawkins


Jimmy Heath


Jon Hendricks


Johnny Hodges


Billie Holiday


Richard "Groove" Holmes


John Lee Hooker


Freddie Hubbard


Alberta Hunter


Elmore James


Harry James


Keith Jarrett


Antonio Carlos Jobim


Robert Johnson


Jerome Kern


B.B. King


Lee Konitz


Charles Kynard


Peggy Lee


John Levy


Ramsey Lewis


Machito


"Brother" Jack McDuff


Jimmy McGriff


Jackie McLean


Sergio Mendes


Johnny Mercer


Pat Metheny


Carmen Miranda


Hank Mobley


Thelonious Monk


Lee Morgan


Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton


Theodore "Fats" Navarro


Chico O'Farrill


Joe “King” Oliver


The Original Dixieland Jazz Band


Charlie Parker


Big John Patton


Art Pepper


Oscar Peterson


Cole Porter


Bud Powell


Chano Pozo


Perez Prado


Tito Puente


Ma Rainey


Richard Rodgers


Sonny Rollins


Jimmy Rushing


David Sanborn


Arturo Sandoval


Mongo Santamaria


Shirley Scott


Wayne Shorter


Frank Sinatra


Horace Silver


Bessie Smith


Jimmy Smith


Johnny "Hammond" Smith


Sonny Stitt


Art Tatum


Mel Torme


McCoy Tyner


Jimmy Van Heusen


Sarah Vaughan


Caetano Veloso


Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller


Sippie Wallis


Dinah Washington


Grover Washington, Jr.


Muddy Waters


Weather Report


Ben Webster


Joe Williams


Reuben Wilson


Teddy Wilson


Howlin' Wolf


Larry Young


Lester Young