swap_horiz Lester Young Alternatives

1

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American music. As a trumpeter and vocalist, he significantly...

Classic Swing Vocals New Orleans

9.9 Brilliant

2

Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader renowned for his sophisticated arrangements and distinc...

Composer Classic Piano Swing

9.9 Brilliant

3

Miles Davis

Miles Davis (1926-1991) was an influential American trumpeter and composer pivotal in shaping modern jazz. His innovativ...

Classic Fusion Cool Modal

9.9 Brilliant

4

John Coltrane

John Coltrane was a highly influential American jazz musician primarily known for his innovative saxophone playing. He d...

Classic Avant Garde Spiritual Modal

9.9 Brilliant

5

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz musician renowned for her distinctive vocal style. Her interpretations of blues and...

Classic Blues Swing Vocals

9.7 Brilliant

6

Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter is a highly influential jazz musician recognized for his innovative compositions and distinctive tenor sax...

Composer Classic Fusion Post Bop

9.7 Brilliant

7

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald is an iconic American jazz vocalist celebrated globally for her exceptional vocal range and improvisatio...

Classic Songbook Swing Vocals

9.6 Brilliant

8

Count Basie

Count Basie was an American jazz musician primarily known for his innovative piano playing and leadership of the Kansas...

Classic Piano Swing Big Band

9.5 Brilliant

9

Oscar Peterson

Oscar Peterson was a highly acclaimed Canadian jazz pianist renowned for his exceptional technical skill and rhythmic pr...

Virtuoso Classic Piano Swing

9.5 Brilliant

10

Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt was a Belgian-born guitarist who co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1934 and became a pi...

Classic European Guitar Swing

9.3 Excellent

11

Gil Evans

Gil Evans was a Canadian-born arranger and pianist whose orchestral writing shaped Miles Davis projects such as Birth of...

Classic Arranger Orchestral Piano

9.3 Excellent

12

Coleman Hawkins

Coleman Hawkins was a U.S. tenor saxophonist whose 1939 recording of Body and Soul helped establish the tenor as a leadi...

Classic Swing Tenor Sax Ballads

9.2 Excellent

13

Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal was an American jazz pianist whose spacious trio style influenced Miles Davis; At the Pershing: But Not for...

Classic Space Piano Cool

9.2 Excellent

14

Stan Getz

Stan Getz was an American tenor saxophonist famed for his warm tone and for popularizing bossa nova with the 1964 hit Th...

Classic Lyrical Cool Tenor Sax

9.2 Excellent

15

Ben Webster

Ben Webster was a U.S. tenor saxophonist known for his breathy ballad sound and for his major role in Duke Ellington's o...

Classic Swing Tenor Sax Ballads

8.6 Great

16

Mel Torme

Mel Torme was an American jazz singer, drummer, and songwriter, nicknamed the Velvet Fog and co-writer of The Christmas...

Classic Swing Cool Vocals

8.4 Great

17

Zoot Sims

Zoot Sims was an American tenor saxophonist linked to the cool and swing traditions, and a member of Woody Herman's Seco...

Classic Swing Cool Tenor Sax

8.3 Great

18

Anita O'Day

Anita O'Day was an American jazz singer noted for rhythmic phrasing, rising with Gene Krupa's band in 1941 and appearing...

Classic Swing Cool Bebop

8.2 Great

19

Warne Marsh

Warne Marsh was an American tenor saxophonist from the Lennie Tristano school, noted for linear improvisation and the 19...

Classic Linear Cool Tenor Sax

8.1 Great

20

Al Cohn

Al Cohn was an American tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer associated with Woody Herman's Second Herd and long pa...

Classic Arranger Swing Cool

7.9 Good