Ten Jazz Names Even You Should Know

I had one of those moments with my daughter recently. I was driving her to the airport - she was returning to her Alma mater, The University of Michigan, for Founder's Day activities for her sorority. She had the radio was on as I drove. As usual, there wasn't much to my liking on regular old radio, but I was being patient with her. At some point, the latest version of some trashy, non-musical, "dirty south" style mindless nonsense came on the air, and she began to bounce and sing-song along with the inane lyrics. It struck an old nerve with me. I asked, "Why do you listen to this shit?" and she came back at me with the usual arguments - that she listened to all types of music, that this music was popular with her set, that it was the beats and not the lyrics, that it was fun, that they played it in the clubs, and so on, blah, blah, blah.

I went way overboard. I told her that endorseing and accepting this kind of misogynist, putrid crap was retarding her development, and that as long as she was a blind follower of popular tastes, she would never lead. I went on further to say that at some point in your life, you have to decide not to go along with the crowd, and make choices that may not be popular or in vogue at the moment. I explained that I had made such a decision and choice in my twenties, when I became a fan of jazz, probably the most unpopular choice of music in America today.

She grew quiet. I could tell she was tired of this discussion, which I have been periodically revisiting with her since she was a teenager (she'll soon be 24). I let it die, realizing that I'll probably never persuade her to abandon the more base of her musical tastes; that if this moment were to ever occur, it would have to come naturally and of her own accord. My daughter has given me a world of reasons to be proud of her, notwithstanding this very limited defect. If she never outgrows that type of music, and i do think she will, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Count your blessings, as they say.

Why is jazz so ignored, and possibly even reviled in the United States? It shouldn't be. It is the only music genre that is truly and entirely American in its origin. We invented it, and there ain't nobody who can play it like us. Talk about beats, jazz has beats. It's brilliant, diverse, timeless, and more than capable of sustaining a lifelong love affair. Most Americans don't know what jazz is, and what it is not. Ignorantly, many think all jazz sounds alike. Not true. They think Kenny G is a jazz musician - he is not. They believe that "smooth jazz" is jazz. Wrong again. The sad fact is that most Americans have a fundamental misunderstanding of jazz that is fatal to them ever acquiring an appreciation for the music. Yes, like any other music, it has its clunkers and charlatans, but true admission to the fraternity requires musicianship, dedication, intelligence, and most importantly, a passion for the music itself.

I have my own opinions as to why most Americans either ignore or do not like jazz. First and foremost, it is music for a thinking person. I have never, ever, met a jazz aficionado who was not bright. Admit it, you do have to cringe at the state of the American intellect today. Additionally, jazz requires a commitment. A commitment of time, scholarship, and intellectual curiosity that is probably lacking and beyond the reach of the overwhelming majority of music fans. Jazz is an acquired taste. Further, it's primarily music that should be listened to - there's very little dancing to jazz, although much of it is eminently danceable. Sadly, but predictably, there's also a racial component. Jazz was invented by, developed by, and is excelled in primarily by the Black Man in America and, as such, it was/is subject to the usual simpleminded prejudices of Americans - to the point where Europeans and Asians are far more devoted and enthusiastic connoisseurs of jazz than most Americans.

That being said and getting down from my soapbox, I offer for your edification a primer of sorts for jazz - a list of ten jazz artists of which every serious music fan should be aware. The Golden Age of Jazz was basically from the 1930s to the 1970s, with a sharp decline in popularity and marketability thereafter. Although there is still plenty of good stuff out there, you've got to hunt to find it nowadays. New York City was once the jazz Mecca of the universe during the 1940s and 50s and probably still is the best city in the world to catch jazz today, but at nowhere near the quantity and extent of years past. Many will argue that jazz is dying, and you'd be hard-pressed to argue alternatively. Jazz clubs, once the staple of live jazz performance and the lifeblood of the genre, are virtually non-existent in major American cities these days. Most cities also had one or more 12 to 24-hour jazz radio stations on the mainstream radio spectrum. Today, your only hope for such is the Internet or satellite radio. Commercially, the jazz industry is difficult in many aspects. Jazz record sales, always a relatively minor component of the music industry, have declined further. It is extremely difficult for a jazz musician to make a living playing jazz exclusively today. It is truly a sad state of affairs for this great American art form.

Without further ado, here is the list, not necessarily in order of influence, importance, or badassedness:

1. Louis Armstrong - Considered by many to be the founding father of jazz, I realize that having Louis at the head of the list could be a non-starter for many people, whose only knowledge of Mr. Armstrong relates to the "Satchmo" images. I myself admit that Armstrong isn't somebody that I turn to for the best of jazz, but the fact of the matter is that Armstrong was a musical genius, and both an excellent trumpet player and vocalist. He deserves his props.

2. Edward "Duke" Ellington - The most important composer in the history of jazz, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was a bandleader for over 50 years. Forever linked with the brilliant arranger Billy Strayhorn, Ellington is responsible for some of the most memorable and popular American compositions of all time, such as, "Take the "A" Train;" "Satin Doll;" "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing);" "Sophisticated Lady;" "Caravan;" "In A Sentimental Mood," and "Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me," just to name a few of his many great songs. A native Washingtonian.

3. Miles Davis - Perhaps the greatest trumpet player of all time, many consider the enigmatic Davis to be the most important figure in the history of jazz. Although not a personal favorite of mine, it's hard to argue against the point. Davis was extraordinarily creative and innovative, and constantly pushed his craft and the music to refreshingly new and different levels. Skilled both and a musician and a bandleader, Miles was a difficult person, as many geniuses are. An excellent biography of Davis and the history of jazz can be found in Miles: The Autobiography, by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe.

4. John Coltrane - Fiery, euphoric, serene, brilliant, eclectic, cerebral, introspective, expressive - all of these adjectives could be used to describe the works of the man - J.C., - John Coltrane. Though his career in jazz was a brief 11 years (he died at age 40 in 1967 from liver cancer), John Coltrane influence the music perhaps unlike any other musician. Plagued early in his career by heroin addiction that made him difficult to employ, the alto, tenor, and soprano saxophonist "Trane" had periodic affiliations with other great men of jazz - Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Thelonius Monk, being the most notable. Arguably, his greatest work came as the leader of, in my opinion, the baddest jazz bands ever, with Trane fronting such personnel at various times which consisted of Trane on saxophones, Red Garland or McCoy Tyner on piano, Paul Chambers or Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones or "Philly" Joe Jones on drums, Lee Morgan on trumpet, and trombonist Curtis Fuller. His seminal album, A Love Supreme, is considered one of the most important jazz albums ever. My personal favorite jazz recording is Coltrane's rendition of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, My Favorite Things. Ladies and Gentlemen, this man was the shit.

5. Wynton Marsalis - Considered by many to be the finest musician of his generation, this trumpet savant saved and rejuvenated jazz, albeit temporarily, during the 1980s and 1990s. The premiere talent of an extremely talented musical family [pianist father Ellis, who taught Harry Connick, Jr.; brothers Branford (saxophone); Delfeayo (trombone), and Jason (percussion)], Marsalis is currently Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is also an accomplished and Grammy-winning composer. Marsalis is a strident and persistent defender of straight jazz and has criticized the attention other popular music forms receive from young Americans. His strongly-held views have caused him a fair share of criticism, even from fellow jazz musicians. Even though his harping can wear on you, he is a brilliant musician and has been a steady champion for the cause of jazz for years.

6. Art Blakey - My favorite jazz artist, not for his drumming ability, but for what he meant to jazz and how he preserved the hard-bop art form of jazz for a span of over thirty years. Founder of the quintessential jazz group, The Jazz Messengers, Blakey began as a not-very-good piano player who switched to the drums. It was there he found his niche, and his calling as a leader and nurturer of young talent. While he was a force in the jazz world in his own right as a drummer from the thirties to fifties, it was as the hard-driving percussive leader of the Messengers that he became a giant. Never a static jazz group, the Messengers more closely resembled the ensemble talent of a theatre company, serving as an incubator for young talent, who would rotate through the group and later became important players in the jazz world in their own right. Almost every major talent in the jazz world from the fifties to the nineties played at one time or another with Blakey's Messengers, including the membership of the "Young Turks" movement in jazz spearheaded by Wynton Marsalis in the 1980s. Only five-foot three, but yet an aggressive and powerful drummer, Blakey was a strict taskmaster of the these young men, pushing them to stretch the limits of their talents. The roster of the members of the Messengers, as well as the personnel with which Blakey has played as a sideman, reads like a Who's Who of jazz. I enjoyed his music so immensely that I nearly cried when he died in 1990 from lung cancer. Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, or simply "Bu," was still playing and leading a band shortly before he passed away in his 70s.

7. Thelonius Monk - Eccentric, laconic, and sometimes uncommunicative, many people of his time thought pianist Thelonius Monk was a nut. But beneath the sometimes impenetrable exterior lay a compositional genius. Responsible for some of the great jazz standards - Round Midnight, Straight No Chaser, 52nd Street Theme, Blue Monk, Well You Needn't, In Walked Bud, and others, Monk was ahead of his time, both in his playing and his compositional skills. After being misunderstood both personally and professionally for a number of years, his greatness was recognized by Alfred Lion of the Blue Note label, and he was a fixture on the jazz scene until he suddenly retired in 1973, suffering from mental illness. He died in 1982.

8. Charlie Parker - "Bird," the brilliant yet self-destructive saxophonist, probably had as much an influence on jazz and horn players than any other musician in the jazz pantheon. Addicted to heroin as early as his teen years, Bird was a saxophone virtuoso admired and copied by his peers and by ensuing generations. In unison with his frequent collaborator Dizzy Gillespie, Bird and "Diz" provided the definitive saxophone and trumpet solos, and pioneered and mastered the jazz genre known as bebop. Abusive of both heroin and alcohol for years, Charlie Parker died in 1955 at the age of 34. According to reports, the medical examiner who presided over his body reasoned that he was a man twice that age.

9. Dizzy Gillespie - The aforementioned collaborator with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie is considered by some jazz aficionados as the finest trumpeter ever (Not, that would be Wynton). In addition to being a first-rate trumpeter, Gillespie was known for his management and organizational skills in putting together successful large bands which earned a living in jazz, always a challenging proposition. During his time, while so many jazz musicians were unpredictable and irresponsible, primarily due to drug use and addictions, Diz was a steadying hand. He also a key proponent and introducer of Afro-Cuban elements to jazz music.

10. Herbie Hancock - Perhaps no other musician in the history of jazz has been more experimental and spanned more genres of music than the pianist Herbie Hancock. A mentee of Miles Davis, Hancock exhibited his virtuosity at the tender age of eleven when he performed his first public solo of a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony. His jazz career took off thereafter, and he joined Davis' band at 23, where he was a major influence on Davis' evolving musical directions. also quickly established himself as a leader and composer - his Maiden Voyage is still considered one of the finest jazz recordings in history. Trained in engineering and a lover of gadgetry, Hancock was an early adopter of electronic music in jazz through his experimentation with the Rhodes electric piano. Moving through various idioms and later blending funk into his music, Hancock later recorded the top-selling jazz recording of that time, Head Hunters. Throughout the balance of his career, Hancock continued to experiment with the limits of electronic, popular, and jazz music, and to this day is still a force in the recording industry.

Well, there you have it, ten names in jazz every American who loves music of any kind should know. Some jazz purists may disagree with a choice or two of mine, but I hazard to guess that most would agree that I got the majority of them right. Jazz is the soundtrack of life. You can sing to it, dance to it, clean your home to it, make love to it, exercise to it, or just plain listen to it and love it. To prove that jazz is a truly great music, I guarantee that if I were given five, non-consecutive hours with anyone who likes and loves music of any kind, I could turn them on to jazz to an extent that they would gain an interest and appreciation of the music, and perhaps they would come to love it, as I do.

No Diggity