100 Greatest Jazz Artists

Jazz artists Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington
Criteria: Greatest Jazz Artists of all time are judged by the influence of their music, by their artistic skills and inspiration, by the greatness of the music that they helped create, and the contributions that they made to that music.

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.


Last Updated: 2017-04-29
Newly added names are in  Red 
Greatest Jazz Artists
  1. Louis Armstrong
  2. Duke Ellington
  3. Miles Davis
  4. Charlie Parker
  5. John Coltrane
  6. Dizzy Gillespie
  7. Billie Holiday
  8. Thelonious Monk
  9. Charles Mingus
10. Count Basie
11. Lester Young
12. Coleman Hawkins
13. Ella Fitzgerald
14. Sonny Rollins
15. Sidney Bechet
16. Art Blakey
17. Ornette Coleman
18. Benny Goodman
19. Jelly Roll Morton
20. Bill Evans
21. Art Tatum
22. Clifford Brown
23. Stan Getz
24. Sarah Vaughan
25. Bud Powell
26. Fletcher Henderson
27. Django Reinhardt
28. Herbie Hancock
29. Wayne Shorter
30. Horace Silver
31. Dave Brubeck
32. Rahsaan Roland Kirk
33. Cecil Taylor
34. King Oliver
35. Sun Ra
36. Gil Evans
37. Lionel Hampton
38. Art Pepper
39. Eric Dolphy
40. Oscar Peterson
41. Charlie Christian
42. Ben Webster
43. Fats Waller
44. Earl Hines
45. Woody Herman
46. Wes Montgomery
47. J.J. Johnson
48. John McLaughlin
49. Artie Shaw
50. Lee Morgan
51. David Murray
52. Chick Corea
53. Max Roach
54. Roy Eldridge
55. Modern Jazz Quartet
56. Anthony Braxton
57. Bix Beiderbecke
58. Dexter Gordon
59. Keith Jarrett
60. Lee Konitz
61. Stan Kenton
62. Joe Henderson
63. Gerry Mulligan
64. Benny Carter
65. Teddy Wilson
66. Freddie Hubbard
67. Cannonball Adderley
68. McCoy Tyner
69. Chet Baker
70. Lennie Tristano
71. Jimmy Smith
72. Mary Lou Williams
73. George Russell
74. Fats Navarro
75. Bennie Moten
76. Jimmie Lunceford
77. Wynton Marsalis
78. Albert Ayler
79. Charlie Haden
80. Erroll Garner
81. Meade Lux Lewis
82. Pat Metheny
83. Jack Teagarden
84. Johnny Hodges
85. Chick Webb
86. James P. Johnson
87. Jimmy Giuffre
88. Jaco Pastorius
89. Hank Mobley
90. Elvin Jones
91. Evan Parker
92. Paul Chambers
93. Ron Carter
94. Carla Bley
95. Bennie Golson
96. Jackie McLean
97. James Carter
98. Donald Byrd
99. Johnny Dodds
100. Glenn Miller

jazz musician Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

jazz musician Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington

jazz musician Miles Davis
Miles Davis

jazz musician Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker








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Honerable Mentions
Muhal Richard Adams
Gene Ammons
Buddy Bolden
Nat King Cole
Alan Holdsworth
Dave Holland
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Philly Joe Jones
Louis Jordan
Eddie Lang
James Moody
Oliver Nelson
Kid Ory
Buddy Rich
Frank Sinatra
Bessie Smith
Billy Strayhorn
Joe Zawinul








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