Classroom

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