100 Greatest Jazz Pianists

Criteria: These Jazz pianists were chosen for their originality, versatility, compositional skill, impact and influence in addition to their technical and improvisational playing of the instrument.

Jazz has had the broadest perspective of all genre's in music since it's first note to the present day. It is for that reason that this list is presented in the same manner, with respect to all the myriad forms & interpretations of Jazz that exist today.
Greatest Jazz Pianists
  1. Thelonius Monk
  2. Art Tatum
  3. Bill Evans
  4. McCoy Tyner
  5. Oscar Peterson
  6. Herbie Hancock
  7. Bud Powell
  8. Keith Jarrett
  9. Chick Corea
10. Jelly Roll Morton
11. Duke Ellington
12. Count Basie
13. Fats Waller
14. James P. Johnson
15. Earl Hines
16. Tommy Flanagan
17. Bob James
18. Joe Zawinul
19. Kenny Kirkland
20. Scott Joplin
21. Teddy Wilson
22. Red Garland
23. George Shearing
24. Horace Silver
25. Les McCann
26. Dave Brubeck
27. Billy Strayhorn
28. Erroll Garner
29. Ahmad Jamal
30. Ramsey Lewis
31. Sonny Clark
32. George Duke
33. Jan Hammer
34. Duke Pearson
35. Dave Grusin
36. Wynton Kelly
37. Lyle Mays
38. Sun Ra
39. Michel Petrucciani
40. Paul Bley
41. Cecil Taylor
42. John Lewis
43. Andrew Hill
44. Phineas Newborn
45. David Benoit
46. Alan Pasqua
47. Eubie Blake
48. Eddie Palmieri
49. Fletcher Henderson
50. Randy Waldman
51. Hank Jones
52. Bill Mays
53. Hampton Hawes
54. Billy Taylor
55. Vince Guaraldi
56. Mose Allison
57. Don Grolnick
58. Albert Ammons
59. Ellis Marsalis
60. Paul Nagel
61. Alan Broadbent
62. John Medeski
63. Jim Beard
64. Brad Mehldau
65. Mitch Forman
66. Joe Sample
67. Matt Denis
68. Lennie Tristano
69. Mary Lou Williams
70. Kenny Drew
71. Max Middleton
72. Jason Moran
73. Milt Buckner
74. Randy Weston
75. Nat King Cole
76. Andre Previn
77. Mal Waldron
78. Billy Kyle
79. Kirk Lightsey
80. Marian Macpartland
81. Barry Harris
82. Steve Kuhn
83. Danilo Perez
84. Jaki Byard
85. Mike Longo
86. Kenny Barron
87. Billy Tipton
88. Brian Culbertson
89. Gene Harris
90. Patrice Rushen
91. Cliff Korman
92. Joe Bonner
93. Perez Prado
94. Benny Green
95. Cedar Walton
96. Bobby 'The Wildman' Enriquez
97. Bobby Timmons
98. Abdullah Ibrahim
99. Hiromi Uehara
100. Tigran Hamasyan
Thelonius Monk
Art Tatum
Bill Evans
McCoy Tyner

Top 10 Jazz Organists
(Plus Best Album)
1. Jimmy Smith
    (Back At The Chicken Shack)
2. Larry Goldings
    (Sweet Science)
3. Larry Young
    (Unity)
4. Lonnie Liston Smith
    (Expansions)
5. Joey Francesco
    (Ballads & Blues)
6. Charles Earland
    (Black Talk)
7. Mel Rhyne
    (Boss Organ)
8. Jimmy McGriff
    (Electric Funk)
9. Big John Patton
    (Let Em' Roll)
10. Brother Jack McDuff
      (Down Home Blues)


Last Updated: 2011-09-12
Newly added names are in  Red