No Mary Lou Williams, Geri Allen, Renee Rosnos, Marian McPartland . No females? He died and was buried in Copenhagen. I think its on of the first lists that is pretty good..I play and little piano and guitar and fancy myself as fairly knowledgeable in guitar, bass and drumsMaybe I know just enough to get into troubleno one can ever agree on any listever. ( These are the pianists who define jazz today. As to rhythmn, as they say in NY, Forget about it. Their last studio outing, was in June 1950. Hands down one of the best jazz pianists in history, Tatum was a blind genius who arguably created the most densely polyphonic and sophisticated pre-bebop piano style of all, fusing stride with swing. I have seen live Count Basie, Duke Ellington with their Bands, Earl Fatha Hines (Solo). In the event, Clarke was shipped off to Europe as part of the US contribution to the war effort, and he missed Bebop's explosion onto the scene in 1945. Its worth noting that tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins anticipated the improv aspect of bebop when he recorded the song Body & Soul in 1939, in which he No Dave Brubeck, whats wrong with you people. From 1943 onwards, it was Coles voice that drew more acclaim, however, and his success as a singer went on to eclipse his piano playing. Teddy Wilson and fats should be a lot higher on that list. Teddy Wilson 21 WTF? Missing Mulgrew Miller, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Fred Hersh and Don Grolnick from the older generation, Gerald Clayton, Christian Sands, Bill Charlap and Robert Glasper from the younger ones. What???? 34 Cecil Taylor The absence of Brad Mehldau is unforgivable I checked like 10 times to be sure I didnt just miss him. Missing: Ellis Marsalis, Bill Charlap, Fred Hersch , Diana Krall, Barry Harris. RAMSEY LEWIS ON THE LIST BUT SHOULD NOT BE! Whenever I scroll through these lists I am pleased to find my CD collection has so many of the folks listed!! Without a doubt I would add Phineas Newborn and Brad Mehldau to that list, and I could easily leave out Bob James and Dave Grusin. Classical music expert Rosie Pentreath told Newsweek: "Bebop is a style of high-energy, modern jazz characterised by super fast, freeform passages of chromatic notes that culminate in short, punchy, two-tone phraseshence the 'bebop'. I dont understand Herbie Hancock at #4ahead of Oscar Peterson, Fats Walleryoure kidding me! In regards to making the Stand Alone Complex soundtrack she said: I had this image of a formal and rigid 'manly' world for the original comic. I do like your top 4 and was pleasantly surprised by it. Where is Joe Bonner? In a bid to be heard in a big band ensemble, Hines began articulating melodies with octaves (or what he called trumpet notes), as well as using a tremolo effect (a rapid alternation of two notes). I say: No way Jose! Andre was a young European hanging around LA at the time. I guess you are glad that MICHEL PETRUCCIANI is on the list. Lists are worthless when they leave out folk like this: Wheres Sun Ra who was far more influential and certainly more entertaining than the vast amount of folk on this list. 29 Scott Joplin A glowingly beautiful playermost of these players cant touch the beauty of his ideas and the flow they get when he is at his best. As a teenager, Jarrett was seduced by jazz and quickly became fluent in its idiom. Finishing work on a Theloneous Monk anniversary album. The following year, Gillespie released A Portrait of Duke Ellington (1960), an album dedicated to Ellington also featuring the work of Juan Tizol, Billy Strayhorn and Mercer Ellington, son of the legendary musician. 3.- Oscar Peterson. At that time, I think of the plot in my brain, when the characters' nameseverything about the charactershas not been decided yet. Horace Silver was the most prominent pianist, composer, and bandleader in this period. Over the course of its 26 episodes. Unbelievable!!!! In the United States, the shows initial run was censored due to content; however, several episodes were also cut due to the show premiering the week before the 9/11 attacks. I am impressed that Art Tatum is number one ( no argument here ), and that Fats Waller and James P. Johnson made the lst, although they should both be much higher. For many, Detroiter Thomas Lee Flanagans name is synonymous with saxophone giant John Coltrane. In a later interview, Kanno said she had picked the name because the first orchestral recording she had heard was the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and at the time Yitzhak Rabin served as Israel's Prime Minister.[12][13]. The resulting breachesfirst, between the older and younger schools of musicians and, second, between jazz musicians and their publicwere deep, and the second never completely healed. Must agree with some of the preceding comments: Mary Lou Williams, John Lewis, Paul Bley, Randy Weston, Jessica Williams not there, but the likes of Bob James, Dave Grusin and even Lyle Mays not only figure, but rank above Andrew Hill! Jessica Williams is one of the most under appreciated jazz pianists today. https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/john-birks-dizzy-gillespie. Show the man some love please. She has written a number of journals for Newtype magazine of which photos for illustrations are done by Kanno herself as well,[15] and a selection of photos taken by Kanno of her protg and former production partner Maaya Sakamoto were featured in the special event program for Sakamoto's 2010 thirtieth birthday concert at Nippon Budokan. Prior to the MJQ, he was a sideman for Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. This amazing musician has got to be the most overlooked jazz pianist of all time! Hes up there with George Hedges, another forgotten legend who never got to play with anyone at all. This is why Im against lists or tallys of who are the greatest this or that . Eliane Elias, Marian McPartland, Joanne Brackeen, Hiromi etc. Earl Hines would hold the No.1 spot for me. Diana Krall is a great singer but just a slightly above average jazz pianist. The ranking is ridiculous (Monk for 2nd etc) IMO. In the combination of musical technique und being a great composer. A founding father of an accessible, R&B-inflected form of instrumental music called smooth jazz, Grusin is rare among the best jazz pianists for having also set up his own record label, GRP, in 1978. With his predilection for performing in an ornate style that comprised lush chords, liquid runs and complex syncopations, this Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh was a child piano prodigy who first recorded in the 40s but blossomed spectacularly in the 50s. I would move Ahmad Jamal higher on the list and include the great be-bop pianist Al Haig. 4. Originally from Colorado, Grusin began releasing piano-led albums under his own name in the early 60s, a decade that also saw him break into the world of television music, where he wrote themes for numerous US TV shows. She has composed the soundtracks of important anime ranging from Macross Plus to Wolfs Rain, along with releasing numerous solo albums of her work. Please. His playing was unlike anyone elses, and was, indeed, the beginning of BeBop. Garners ear for music was legendary. As far a people who were left off the list Jessica WIlliams (another Monk aficionado) deserves a serious consideration. bebop, also called bop, the first kind of modern jazz, which split jazz into two opposing camps in the last half of the 1940s. 9. Thats the same serial number as the USS Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV show. When bebop music first hit the (I think Marylou Williams should be rated higher), absolutely totally agree with thisPhineas one of the all time greats. Dave was also the second Jazz artist to be on the cover of Time Magazine, only second to the venerable Louis Armstrong. Indeed, Watanabe, the creator of the original anime, is known to be a huge fan of jazz and it is why the musical genre features so heavily in the soundtrack. Kenny Barron-Mal Waldron-Dick Hyman -Alan Broadbent-Jess StacyMarian McPartland 7 Every other jazz pianist, @anyone that hasnt heard Mal Waldron First Encounter yet, Id love to hear your thoughts. Davis liked Garland for his Ahmad Jamal-like lightness of touch and use of space. Sadly, Clark was a heroin addict and died, aged 31, from a suspected (but never proven) overdose. In a stroke of fate, the universe made sure things started coming together for them exactly three years ago. Hiromi Uehara! I enjoy Monks music but I wouldnt put him at number two. Way overrated: Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis, Absolutely agree with you assessment and Gene Harris deserve a spot. As well as a dexterous pianist who enjoyed a long and fruitful stretch at Blue Note between 1952 and 1980, Silver was a prolific tunesmith (among his most famous compositions is Song For My Father). 5: Count Basie It was mostly small indie labels that issued bebop recordings in the early days, but as this new music gained credence and popularity as the 40s became the 50s, bigger companies began to get involved during what is bebops Golden Age. Finally, if we took into account virtuosism (true virtuosism, which involves making it sound clear and perfect) Id add Hancock, Tatum, Peterson and Corea; Hancock being the one pianist who can get the best SOUND out of a grand piano hes absolute perfection playing chords. No Fred Hersch? He became immediately recognizable from the unusual shape of his trumpet, with the bell tilted upward at a 45-degree anglethe result of someone accidentally sitting on it in 1953, but to good effect, for when he played it afterward, he discovered that its new shape improved the instrument's sound quality, and he had it incorporated into all his trumpets thereafter. Really like the different posts mentioning those left off the list, especially the more obscure and forgotten players like Bobby Enriquez (who I vividly remember seeing at Newport) and Dorothy Donnegan. In a 2009 written interview, Robin proclaimed that she would perform for the first time live at Kanno's 2009 Tanabata Sonic concert, but at the end of the concert, which featured Kanno directing the Warsaw Philharmonic, Kanno turned to the audience and sang "Moon", a song previously attributed to Robin from the Turn A Gundam soundtrack, revealing that "Gabriela Robin" was simply a pseudonym Kanno used to write songs mixing English and Japanese freely. Hard bop became the most popular form of jazz in the 50s, and among its main practitioners were Miles Davis who, ever the restless soul, quit the cool school soon after it started Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Sony Stitt, John Coltrane, Art Pepper, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Dorham, Sony Stitt, and myriad others. For example, in the first verse of the song, Gillespie sings about the culture of jazz clubs, and infers that where bebop was playing, the (mostly Black) audiences were pushing societal expectations by letting loose, and demonstrating sexual prowess. At least Art is no1, but Oscar, Bud and Bill should be 2,3,4. Rather the genius opted to define his own style that fitted his original compositions and his improvisations. Tristano was also a noted jazz teacher and it is claimed that his influence affected Miles Davis (on Birth Of The Cool) as well as Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan. But ranking them is ridiculous. Maybe others should be on the list, and maybe the order should be rearranged, but one thing you got for sure Art Tatum absolute #1! 2-Bill Evans The most famous of these was Mintons Playhouse, which opened in New York City in 1940. Arguably the most compelling album he made was 1955s classic Concert By The Sea, which captures Garner in all his glory. Biography.com. Roger Kellaway-Ray Bryant etc etc etc Theres a good case that Bill is a Top 10 pianist, but thats when the lauding should end. For more essential jazz, listen to the Jazz Giants playlist on Spotify. 1. Heres the story. He patented a technically advanced, uniquely florid style from an early age that melded elements from stride, swing and classical music. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize}@media (any-hover:hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. Sorry. Molten melodic lines poured out of him in a rapid-fire torrent of improvisation that took virtuosity to a new level. 33 Lyle Mays One of a multitude of musicians who came through Art Blakeys Hard Bop Academy, The Jazz Messengers, this Philadelphia musician was the son of a preacher and grew up playing in church. What is bebop? No one has a timeless list of The Greatest. Read about our approach to external linking. I played it myself! Any list without Billy Taylor has no credibility. A virtuoso who is fully fluent in bebop, modal, and post-bop jazz styles, Mabern is still actively recording and performing today at the age of 81. ", According to Pentreath, "What makes Kanno's Cowboy Bebop soundtrack so iconic is the fact it's unafraid to lean into the very bebop that inspired the series so heavily. Bebop grew organically out of Swing, and shares many of its elements and features. As far as ability goes, most of the names on this list are unable to match his. The post bop era began in the 1960s, not the 21st century. After Coltrane, Tyner established himself as one of contemporary jazzs pre-eminent pianists with a series of astounding albums for Blue Note and, later, Milestone. Magicians of the boogie woogie. Wow -as a Jazz piano lover I could care less about the order, though it might be nice to see a list of living piano players. Rusty Dedrick - trumpet. Barry Harris, should be in the top twenty. Though, compared to many of the best jazz pianists, his influences are wide and varied ranging from pop, rock, folk, and classical music, to bebop, country, and even electronic music he has distilled them all into a unique style which is inspired by the lyricism of Bill Evans and spellbinding virtuosic improvisation of Keith Jarrett. A near-fatal diving accident in 1951 caused nerve damage to Brubecks hands and changed the way he played piano, where fleet-of-finger lines were replaced by dense block chords. Cecil Taylor Wonderful list but Phineas Newborn should at least be in the top 20; he isnt on the list at all. Check out Ellingtons and Juan Tizols Caravan if you want to see what it is like to muscially pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. Your email address will not be published. The musicians, collectively known as the Seatbelts, are "incredibly tight, dynamic players who are brilliant at improvising where asked," Pentreath said.